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Satire and parody in politics has a long and storied history.
New York political strongman Boss Tweed once told an aide, “I don’t care what they write about me, just keep me out of those pictures.”
He referred, of course, to the political cartoons of Thomas Nast.
Nast’s cartoons appeared in a number of papers and magazines. His biting satirical cartoons eventually led to the collapse of Tammany Hall corruption.
The cartoon at the right is an example of Nast going after the voting corruption associated with Tweed and his Tammany Hall henchmen.
Nast himself had flaws, as might be expected of a man of his time. Some of his cartoons reflected his strong anti-Irish and anti-Catholic views.
On the other hand, he was sympathetic to the plight of black people, and was a staunch abolitionist. After the Civil War, Nast opposed the Reconstruction plans of President Andrew Johnson.
However, Nast aimed his most powerful cartoons at the corrupt New York city government.
Satire still exists. With all the various outlets in social media, there is a rich field of media outlets for creative souls. Thomas Nast would have been envious.
While cruising YouTube, I stumbled across the songs of Don Caron.
These songs are parodies based on several great Simon & Garfunkel songs:
There are lots more on the Y’Tube. Of course, comics and satirists have a target rich environment these days.
Wednesday Lagniappe:
It’s a Southern Thing is one of my favorite humor channels. As a Granddaddy myself, I certify this episode involving Granddaddy’s Chair to be true on many levels:
And a bit of Southern flavored music for good measure:
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