Perhaps viewers would look at my writings/drawings and think I have a more liberal mindset. I think that they two most important factors are the fact that I drew a political cartoon about gay rights and how it seems that the United States is slowly starting to be more accepting of that lifestyle. While I don’t agree that that lifestyle, I also don’t openly condemn it. I just wouldn't want our culture to change to the point that it is actually promoted. The other factor that I think people would think of me being more of a liberal is because I talk about supporting a pro immigration bill, it regards to the assignment where we contact our senators. I believe and support any bill that would effectively offer legal status to those that are here illegally because my parents at one point were also. I know how they struggled from what they told me, and I personally know the struggles of other families. I don’t look at this issue on one side though. I understand that the fact they crossed here was illegal by law, yet I don’t think the US is willing to deport over 10 million immigrants. They have become essential to the economy. 

This week’s lesson pertained to the Supreme Court and how they have the power to interpret the law. The lesson involved an assignment about gay marriage and the Defense of Marriage Act. I chose to draw a political cartoon depicting this. In the drawing you have President Obama, a supporter of gay rights, beside John Boehner, The Speaker of the House. Republicans for the most part have had a strong opposition to the issue of gay marriage, yet it seems that the US is slowly starting to support legislation that would allow for this to happen. Recently, some states have either passed laws were it has become legal or they have overturned legislation that prohibited it from occurring. In the cartoon, you can see Obama looking at Boehner and pointing at a giant elephant (the elephant in the room). Boehner on the other had keeps his eyes closed in order to avoid looking at what more than likely will happen down the road. 

For this week and our assignment to contact our respective Senators and Representatives I chose to draw a political cartoon pertaining to it. When I emailed my Senators and Representative I got only as a response and email saying how busy they were and how they were glad that I had contacted them in order to express my opinion and concerns. Only one Senator, Tim Scott, sent me an email detailing and answering the email that I sent him. Whether it was actually him or an aide I do not know. As a result this influenced my political cartoon. On the left side of the drawing I drew a citizen typing an email to his congressman and using the right he has to contact him. On the right side, you have the congressman and his aide. The aide receives the email that was sent to the congressman and tells him that he has received an email about a particular bill. The congressman in turn, with a mug in his hand, waves back and tells the aide to send one of those emails that say “I appreciate your input and opinion” and that “I’ll get back at you as soon as I can.” It can be disheartening to send an email to a representative or senator and for them not to respond back with a detailed answer. Like I said, the only person that responded back was Senator Tim Scott.  Senator Lindsey Graham and Representative Jeff Duncan only sent back and email saying that they were currently really busy and would provide an answer as soon as they can, and that they valued my input. The type of legislation that I wanted them to look at had to do with immigration. One bill was about providing legal status undocumented individuals that received an award for being in active combat. The other bill had to do with undocumented parents not be deported because they would be torn away from their kids; these kids are American citizens and it the bill sees that it is not in the child’s best interest for this to occur. The final bill that I emailed about what was a bill in the Senate that sets up a plan for undocumented immigrants to gain legal status as long as they followed certain rules. What I learned from this exercise is that we do have an opportunity to talk to officials that represent us in the federal government. If we feel like there is some issue that we think needs some action than we should try to contact our representatives and senators. This is how our form of government was set up  for.

Political Cartoon 3/ Election and Funding

I chose to draw for the topic of elections and campaigning the race between President Obama and Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election. To represent them and their ideologies I drew the donkey and elephant to represent each political party. As they are racing to the finish line, and the White House, they are leaving a trail of money that was raised in order to fund their campaign. The amount of money that each candidate raised is written on the animals. The numbers that I got came from the New York Times website. One thing that stuck out from me, whether it was coincidence or not, is that Obama was able to raise more money and eventually won his reelection.  Above them you can also see a hand hovering over them. That hand represents the independent contributors and the money that they give out to support the campaign of the candidates.

References

Ashkenas, J., Ericson, M., Parlapiano, A., & Derek, W. (2012). The 2012 Money Race: Compare the Candidates. Retrieved from The New York Times: http://elections.nytimes.com/2012/campaign-finance

Political Cartoon 2/ Bill of Rights

This country is a unique in the sense that our founding fathers wanted to create a country in which the government could not be too powerful and exploit its citizens. I drew Uncle Sam giving out food to represent that we are entitled to certain rights because we live in this country. I decided to draw Uncle Sam because he has become an icon representing the American government. In the drawing he is holding a plate with “constitution” written on it. On the plate, there are 10 different appetizers. These are the Bill of Rights that are written in the Constitution. I think that its intended audience would be every person living in this country because these rights apply to everyone. To reinforce this, in the original Uncle Sam drawings, he says, “I want you,” as he looks at you directly. In this drawing, the same principle applies because he is looking at you directly and not being prejudice against race, gender, or religious affiliation. It can represent the 1^st Amendment. 

Political Cartoon #1/ Little Red Riding Hood

I drew a political cartoon dealing with support for the anti federalist movement. I chose to use Little Red Riding Hood because she represents the anti-federalist’s push for state’s rights. The basket is used to represent states rights, and the baked goods inside the basket are individual states. Little Red Riding Hood’s grandma can be considered the U.S. populous. In the background, behind a tree (meaning deception), there are two federalists; James Madison and Alexander Hamilton. They represent the wolf that is trying to steal the liberty that the state’s fought for in order to form a strong central government. 

Comprehensive Assignment/ Political Ideology

Comprehensive Assignment/ Political Ideology

Based on the Pew typology assessment and the responses I gave it said that I was a New Coalition Democrat. Pew Research describes a New Coalition Democrat as follows: strong supporter of government, positive about country’s ability to solve problems and individual hard work, pro- environmental, positive with business, liberal on racial issues, positive about immigration, religious, and socially conservative (Pew Research Center, 2014). Based on the political cartoon illustrations that I submitted I do not believe that I see evidence of my Pew typology. In the first political cartoon I drew Little Red Riding Hood representing Anti-Federalist and their push for more state rights as opposed to a strong federal government. I drew Madison and Hamilton (Federalists) in the background representing the wolf that wanted to take away state rights. In the second political cartoon, I had Uncle Sam holding the Bill of Rights on a platter as he offered it to the reader. Perhaps I chose to draw the cartoons that I did because I felt that I should also respect the opposite side of the argument. I am not exactly sure though if from now I will fuse my political ideology with my work. In some cartoons I think I might, but in others I think I would draw something in support of the opposite side. I believe it is healthy to always look at both sides of the issue. One political ideology isn’t always the best way to look at things. Each side has something to offer.  

               

References

Pew Research Center. (2014, January 21). Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. Retrieved from Pew Research: http://www.people-press.org/typology/quiz/?src=typology-report