This past week I came across a piece I wrote back in 2007 for a collection of essays remembering the 9-11 attacks. I wanted to share it again.
I was sitting behind a table at a craft fair about a month after the attacks of September 11, 2001. I was doing cartoon portraits of people. At least that was what I was supposed to be doing; our table was tucked away in a corner near the exit and most people who came by were hurrying on their way out. To pass the time while waiting for customers, I pulled out my pad of bristol board and began drawing.
As I said, this was about a month after 9/11, and many of the vendors at the craft fair were selling patriotic-themed items: carved wooden Uncle Sams, painted plaster eagles, star-spangled quilts, that sort of thing. And it got me thinking.
I saw a lot of patriotic imagery following the 9/11 attacks; some of it kitschy, a lot of it angry, all of it full of a fervernt love of country.
The one that I saw the most frequently was a picture I somewhat irreverantly called “The Tear-Stained Eagle.” You’ve undoubtably seen it; it was reproduced and copied and imitated countless times. The head of a bald eagle, seen in profile, with a large tear descending down it’s face; while in the background we see the burning Twin Towers of the World Trade Center.
But a lot of the images I saw were angry. I remember one powerful political cartoon from just after 9/11: An American eagle with an expression of angry determination is filing its talons. It captured the mood of the time. And it was sadly prophetic: we as a nation wanted vengence so bad that we were willing to go after anybody, whether they were guilty of the attacks or not.
Another eagle picture I remember was from a T-shirt I saw at work. It showed an eagle in flight, coming straight at the viewer with it’s talons extended and it’s beak open in full cry. The caption, incongruously, read: “FREEDOM”. It was a cool pic, but the caption should have read something like “PAYBACK” or “DON’T TREAD ON ME” or “I’M GONNA GET YOU, SUCKA!”
As I sat at that craft fair in the local UAW hall, I knew I wanted to draw something patriotic; but I didn’t want it to be angry or vindictive or even sorrowful. I wanted to portray some of the qualities I think our country embodies at its best: optimism, confidence, the spirit to pick ourselves up and work to make things better. I like to think that these, rather than mere affluence or military might, are what make this country great.
Since I am a cartoonist, I drew a cartoon that I hoped would show these qualities; the qualities I hoped would guide us in the Post-9/11 world: a picture of Uncle Sam, rolling up his sleeves to get to work, ready for the task of rebuilding, his face radiant and confident that together we could do it.
I was wrong. Our leaders chose to invoke the Angry Eagle rather than Smilin’ Sam.
And our country is the worse for it.
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ADDENDUM: As I said, I wrote this in 2007, a rather dreary time as the War of Righteous Fury had turned into a Tar Pit of Neverending Occupation. But at that same time a young Senator from Illinois was just starting a campaign that would share the same themes that I hoped for; and as President he tackled the job not of punishing our enemies, but re-establishing friendships, re-building our economy, and reaching out across the political divide. He was not entirely successful, especially on that last part, but he embodied my Smilin’ Sam much better than his predecessor.
Now we have another election looming and another choice of Candidates. I’m not entirely sure that Hillary entirely reflects the attitude of my Sam, but she shares his determination; and her vision for the country is one I can live with. Her famous line “It takes a Village...” is also one that was in the back of my mind when I drew Sam; we are all in this together and have to pull together.
Donald, however, doesn’t even have the honest rage of the Angry Eagles; he just exploits it for his own aggrandizement. He exploits the politics of rage and resentment, but he doesn’t really care one way or the other so long as his name gets put in gold letters.
Here’s hoping for a better tomorrow.