upworthy

democrat

Democracy

Dr. Seuss might be known for his children's books, but his political cartoons were next-level

The well known author wrote more than 400 clever and poignant cartoons during World War II.

Image dated November 25, 1969, via SIO Photographic Laboratory Collection: Selections, UC San Diego Library

This photo was taken of Theodor Seuss Geisel at the UC San Diego Library.

Did you know that in addition to being a beloved author of children's books, Dr. Seuss wrote more than 400 political cartoons during World War II?

Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, gifted the world with stories like "The Cat in the Hat," "The Lorax," "Green Eggs and Ham," and dozens of other childhood classics until his death in 1991.

In recent years, however, it's some of his lesser known works from the 1940s that have gained attention.

As World War II was slowly moving toward a reality, Seuss began penning cartoons for PM, a liberal publication, frequently pushing back against the "America First" mentality of U.S. isolationists opposed to U.S. involvement in the war.

So when Donald Trump adopted "Make America Great Again" as his campaign slogan, echoing cries of "America First" — the rallying call for an anti-Semitic and Nazi-appeasing segment of the wartime U.S. population — some of Seuss' cartoons began to find new relevance more than 70 years after first being published.

Like this one, which depicts a mother reading a book titled "Adolf the Wolf" to children while wearing an "America First" shirt, explaining that because the wolf's victims were foreign children, it didn't really matter that the wolf ate them — a clear parallel to the conflicting approaches to our modern refugee crisis.

Dr. Seuss, political cartoon, isolationism, refugee crisis

A Dr. Seuss political cartoon sharing thoughts on isolationism.

Image dated Oct. 1, 1941, via Dr. Seuss Political Cartoons/Special Collection and Archives, UC San Diego Library

"And the Wolf chewed up the children and spit out their bones ... but those were Foreign Children and it really didn't matter."

Russia, Germany, Europe, war, political cartoon

Cartoon about WWII and Hitler dragging Russia into the war.

Image dated June 25, 1941, via Dr. Seuss Political Cartoons/Special Collection and Archives, UC San Diego Library.

"A. Hitler taxidermist"

clams, frantic, Hitler, political satire, 1941

Dr. Seuss uses clams in talking about Hitler in a political cartoon from 1941.

Image dated July 17, 1941, via Dr. Seuss Political Cartoons/Special Collection and Archives, UC San Diego Library.

"We Clams Can't Be Too Careful."

political satire, cartoon, WWII, war commentary

A political satire created by Dr. Seuss on the impending World War II.

Image dated May 27, 1941, via Dr. Seuss Political Cartoons/Special Collection and Archives, UC San Diego Library.

"The old Family bath tub is plenty safe for me!"

Suess's other comics took aim at overarching issues like anti-Semitism, racial inequality, and political obstructionism — all issues still relevant today.

To be sure, the comics were far from perfect and reflected some ugly stereotypes of their own. For instance, many of his cartoons amplified some pretty awful impressions of Japanese citizens and Japanese-Americans. And while it's easy to chalk that up as being simply an element of the time, that type of anti-Japanese sentiment helped fuel the racism and paranoia that eventually led to Japanese internment.

WWII, Hitler, cartoon, singing, antisemitism

A Dr. Seuss cartoon depicts Hitler singing.

Image dated July 20, 1942, via Dr. Seuss Political Cartoons/Special Collection and Archives, UC San Diego Library.

"Only God can make a tree to furnish sport for you and me!"

elephant, tank, satire, archives, political, Dr. Seuss

An elephant tries to stop a tank in a political cartoon.

Image dated Oct. 24, 1941, via Dr. Seuss Political Cartoons/Special Collection and Archives, UC San Diego Library.

"Stop all U.S. progress."

pledge of allegiance, flag, political cartoon, racial prejudice

Political cartoon uses 'Pledge of Allegiance' to make a point.

Image dated July 30, 1942, via Dr. Seuss Political Cartoons/Special Collection and Archives, UC San Diego Library.

"The Guy Who Makes a Mock of Democracy."

appeasement, Nazism, America first, political cartoon

Political cartoon suggests the war is coming to America.

Image dated Sept. 9, 1941, via Dr. Seuss Political Cartoons/Special Collection and Archives, UC San Diego Library.

"Relax, Sam, I assure you the express turns off right here!"

If the world of Dr. Seuss can teach us anything, it's that history is our best defense against modern tyranny.

Well, that, and the fact that Americans will always love goofy hats:

satire, analogies, political satire, cartoons, 1940's

Political cartoon suggests burying your head in the sand.

Image dated April 29, 1941, via Dr. Seuss Political Cartoons/Special Collection and Archives, UC San Diego Library.

"We Always Were Suckers for Ridiculous Hats."

See more of Seuss' wartime comics at the University of California San Diego Library's website.This story originally appeared on 03.02.17

From Your Site Articles
history
More

Watch this Texas mom's inspiring, viral campaign video. She's making history — again.

M.J. Hegar has thrived in the face of adversity her entire life.

The 42-year-old Air Force veteran is also an author, wife, and mother. And now she's trying to win in a Texas congressional district that to date has never elected a Democrat.

In late June, Hegar released a campaign video entitled "Doors," which highlighted her life story and her fight against sexism in the military. She won a historic legal fight that overturned the Direct Combat Definition and Assignment Rule that prevented military women from serving in a number of roles.

The video quickly went viral and has been viewed more than 5 million times across Hegar's YouTube and Facebook channels. That's quite impressive for a political ad in a small Texas congressional district, but it wasn’t expected to affect the actual campaign.

And then the donations started pouring in.

Hegar has outraised her Republican opponent by a wide margin, which shows how much her message is resonating.

On July 16, new fundraising numbers were released by the Federal Elections Commission, and the results were stunning: Hegar outraised her opponent, Rep. John Carter (R-Texas) by more than 4 to 1, with $1,171,373 compared to his $266,889.

"The thousands of people who are supporting our campaign show that it is time to show the door to politicians who care more about campaign donors and political parties than protecting our country," she said.

Hegar says that when she tried to meet with Carter to discuss her military reform initiative, his office refused, saying she wasn't a priority because she wasn't a campaign contributor.

Carter's team has denied the claim, but it clearly resonated with donors, who gave her campaign more than $750,000 in just the first 10 days after her video was released.

She still faces an uphill battle — but that's never stopped her before.

Carter is still considered a 10-point favorite according to election forecasters, but that's a big change from 2016 when he won his election by nearly 22 points. And as Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez and others have proven, 2018 is a year primed for historic upsets.

"A lot of people across the country feel like they have absent representation and that their voices are not being heard," Hegar said in a recent interview.

It's a message that's resonating with people, even deep in the heart of red-state Texas.

More

A Republican senator just defended his Muslim opponent against Islamophobic trolls.

Deedra Abboud is running for the Arizona U.S. Senate seat currently occupied by Jeff Flake.

Photo via Deedra for U.S. Senate 2018.

On July 18, Abboud, a Muslim and an attorney and a Democrat, posted a tribute to the First Amendment on her Facebook page.

"In their infinite wisdom, the Founding Fathers decreed that this nation would separate church and state, and in doing so protect both institutions," she wrote. "Government would be free from religious overreach, and religion would be free from government interference."

Many of the replies, as first reported in AZ Central, targeted Abboud on the basis of her faith.

"F*** you Muslim b*tch," wrote one commenter.

"Nice try but your first love is Satan (AKA Allah) and your second love is to a litter box your "people" come from," wrote another.

"Sorry no room for Muslims in our government. Nice try though you are quoting the Muslim brotherhood," another responded.

While many of her supporters replied with words of encouragement, one voice was unexpected: Abboud's political opponent.

Flake reached out to Abboud on Twitter to express his sympathy and urge her to ignore the bigots.

Abboud thanked Flake for rapidly and unequivocally denouncing those harassing her.

Many others on Twitter — supporters of both candidates — applauded Flake for putting politics aside to stand up for civility.

Others encouraged the Republican senator to spread the word to others in his own party — including its leader, whose campaign and administration frequently employed incendiary anti-Muslim rhetoric.

Abboud's campaign manager Joseph Harris says in an email that his candidate hopes to "focus on this being an opportunity to change the landscape."

"Our elected leaders should be leading in the civil discourse, of calling out behavior that does not reflect our American values, of being competitive without character attacks," he says.

Flake and Abboud don't agree on much, but they don't have to in order to model respectful disagreement.

Abboud supports preserving the main provisions of the Affordable Care Act while Flake supported Ted Cruz' measure allowing insurers to resurrect "bare bones" health plans. Abboud supports net neutrality while Flake recently introduced a bill that would allow internet service providers to collect more personal information from customers.

Photo by Ralph Freso/Getty Images.

One thing they seem to agree on — attacks on an opponents faith are out of bounds and disputes are better approached from a place of mutual respect.

Props to Abboud for using the harsh words directed at her as a teachable moment.

And props to Flake for demonstrating that even in an age of heightened partisan rancor, politics doesn't have to be personal.

Upworthy reached out to Flake's office for comment, and this story may be updated.

Heroes

Trump might exit the Paris Agreement. A Republican is begging him not to with a photo.

Over the weekend, signals that President Donald Trump intends to abandon the landmark Paris Agreement on climate change began blaring.  

Photo by Joshua Lott/AFP/Getty Images.

A group of 22 Republican senators, including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell along with White House aide Steve Bannon, White House counsel Don McGahn, and EPA chief Scott Pruitt, have reportedly urged Trump to exit the agreement, which requires signatory nations to take whatever steps they deem necessary to limit worldwide temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius.

While Trump tweeted on Saturday morning that he would make a final decision in the coming days, several people close to Trump have said that he is "[planning] to leave" the deal, according to an Axios report.

The reports appear to have unnerved even some Republicans, specifically those whose districts stand to take on a fair amount of water should the agreement fall apart and sea levels continue to rise — which could occur at a terrifyingly rapid rate without a serious global effort to curb carbon emissions.

On Tuesday, Florida GOP Rep. Vern Buchanan tweeted a picture of his coastal district, along with a message for the president.

Buchanan's district includes the city of Sarasota and a group of barrier islands, all of which are threatened by rising sea levels.

A 2013 study found that if the rise in carbon emissions continues at the current rate, parts of Florida's 16th congressional district could see half or more of its population displaced by 2100.

Buchanan is not the only Republican asking Trump to reconsider withdrawing from the agreement either.

Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images.

Sen. Lindsay Graham, who represents South Carolina, home to a number of coastal cities and low-lying islands, added his voice to the chorus on Sunday, telling CNN's Jake Tapper that leaving the agreement would be "bad for the [GOP], bad for the country."

It might be relatively easy to ignore the problem of rising sea levels from landlocked states like Kansas or Montana or Tennessee.

Or from Air Force One, for that matter.

But it's not so easy when, like Buchanan, Graham, and others, you wake up staring at the potential consequences each morning.

It's been a good run. Photo by Roger W/Flickr.

Buchanan's record on climate change is certainly mixed — at best. Last year, the congressman earned a 29% rating from the League of Conservation Voters and just a 21% rating overall. But even if he's late to the party, voices like his are unfortunately rare enough to be essential.

The more pro-climate GOP voices join the debate, the easier it will be for more Republicans from coastal areas who want their beautiful views to continue on undisturbed to face reality and stand up against climate change.

It's in everyone's best interest. Reality, after all, has a way of biting back before too long.

From Your Site Articles
Trending Stories