Interesting how from the outset the thread became 99% about USA politics. I could post some Dutch ones but it is no use. They are in Dutch for one and most of my Dutch mates here are gone for now. It’s fine with me, I find America and American politics fascinating if somewhat (or a lot recently) scary.
Political memes come in many forms. The overwhelming majority is political propaganda. As has been said before. No subtlety. Innuendo, gossip and outright lies under the guise of humour which to my eye isn’t humorous at all. And IMO one party is more guilty than the other one. The same false messages repeated again and again with only the slightest of variations. Repeated so much that people start to believe them because they have seen it so much.
There’s always been political propaganda but there also always has been political comment in the form of cartoons. There’s a big difference. Politically opinionated cartoons are open for debate, smart political cartoons will get you thinking while making you smile. Propaganda wants to make you believe and follow. Political cartoons are democratic while propaganda is the opposite, propaganda is the tool of totalitarianism. With the demise of the newspaper and the advent of social media the two seem to have integrated into each other, in the form of memes, with propaganda mostly winning.
Democracy has deep flaws and nowhere these flaws are deeper and more apparent than they are in the USA. I understand how people there feel like there is no choice to make. I think there is though. There is some hope. You can think about AOC what you like, but she did break through barriers and gained support based on her ideas. That’s democracy. That she did make it to congress is a sign that there are still possibilities for change in the American system, however under the control of big business the whole system and both parties are.
I can also see how many people feel like the politicians are only there for their own interests 100%, and don’t care about the people they were elected by. I don’t agree. There is a lot of self-interest and there are a lot of egotistic bastards and there is a political elite yes. But go and live under a real dictatorship and you’ll see soon enough. In any democracy there are still some politicians out there who are trying to make society a better place based on their beliefs.
Anyway, I’d like to see some thought and some humour and some opinion in a political meme. It does not make me happy or amused to see so much outright propaganda in ‘m. Still it’s interesting politically and sociologically and I’ll follow it.
Famous last words, friend.
David Low is legendary. Over here I always was a fan of Opland, who started out imitating Low directly after WWII but developed his own unique style. The most renowned image he made was this one that became the logo for the anti-nuclear arms movement world wide, originally made for the demo on 29 October 1983 against the placement of nuclear armed cruise missiles in the Netherlands. Which was the biggest demonstration here ever, with over half a million people attending.
