There is something about certain comic strips that tap into the truth more than occasionally-perhaps because the truth is often so strange. Many comics, such as \Garfield,"" are just lame, with little to say and even less edge. Yet a good strip, such as ""Doonesbury,"" can be a narrative for the country's journey and soul.
David Rees' ""Get Your War On,"" a strip posted weekly over the Internet and available at , falls somewhere between that fat, orange cat and Trudeau's genius. Though foul-mouthed and one-sided, ""GYWO"" taps into a bit of truth. The strip demands that we confront the absurdity of our own lame, fat orange cat-our government and political culture.
""GYWO"" has been a minor phenomenon since Sept. 11, when David Rees, a New York City comic strip writer, began his online commentary on the Bush administration. ""GYWO"" is shocking, partly because of the disparity between its visuals and its captions. Up front, it appears all business and no action, with clip-art, white-collar types talking over the office phone or in the break room. But take a moment to listen in on their conversations, and it quickly becomes apparent these stiff cartoons are foul-mouthed machine guns, full of torching sarcasm and righteous rage at Bushworld.
In one comic, posted Jan. 17, 2005 (before the ""triumph"" of Iraqi democracy), a donut-munching Betty comments, ""The Iraqi elections are almost here! Freedom is almost done marching. Man, I'd hate to see freedom's bunions at this point.""
""I bet when freedom finally unlaces its boots,"" Dick adds, ""some motherfuckers will keel over at the odor.""
""Not Bush,"" Betty replies, ""He won't keel over. He'll swoon.""
The strip points out that, in many ways, President Bush's rhetoric is strange. We've heard ""freedom on the march"" so many times by the president, vice president and all their courtiers that it seems ordinary. But Rees' strip pushes that rhetoric to a logical absurdity, which grabs our attention. Is ""freedom on the march"" militaristic rhetoric or merely a jingle like ""every kiss begins with Kay?"" And how would freedom ""march?"" Like a German storm trooper? Or a San Francisco gay pride rally? It's said that Karl Rove whistles ""onward Christian soldiers"" while walking the White House halls. The point is that the president's jingle can evoke just about any image, even Rove's crusader image.
Second, that quoted ""GWYO"" strip points out just how rapturous the President & Co. often seem to be on their (our) freedom march in Iraq. When Betty says Bush would ""swoon"" over freedom's stinky dogs, some interesting connotations pop up. ""Swoon"" not only brings up the president's un-macho cheerleader past or all that swooning at Abu Ghraib. It also brings up images of Christian evangelical rapture. A swooning man might very well be receiving the Holy Ghost. This is interesting because it is reported Bush seems to think he is called by God to be an instrument of divine will, to mark the history of man with wars for freedom. Rees' comic seems to suggest we consider the president a pretentious man. Democracy marches and, as our leader once put it, ""leaders lead, that's what leaders do.""
Needless to say, Rees' comic strip is not for everyone. It is easy to see how a College Republican might not find this comic as funny as an LGBT person might. That might be the greatest weakness of ""GYWO."" The strip's political assumptions preclude the possibility that conservatives can appreciate it. The strip limits its impact by preaching to the choir.
Then again, David Rees probably does not care. If so, that's a shame, because ""Get Your War On"" has something to say to all of us, whether Republican and conservative or Democratic and liberal.
opinion@dailycardinal.com.
