The Scrutinator

*** Update 7/7: On further reflection, Scott's right: I'm wrong to call him dishonest. I regret using that word, and I apologized in the comments to his post. He sincerely believes in what he wrote (I mean the "jingoistic frenzy" thing), and there's nothing dishonest about that. ***

[Welcome to my planet, Candorville readers! Check out my update below.]

Darrin Bell, author of the comic Candorville, makes this blatantly false claim about Condoleeza Rice:

In fact, she didn't say "bracket insert name bracket." [Please forgive this clunky segueway. I dashed it off too quickly. How's this for a more thoughtful one: As though Ms. Rice would substitute Honduras or Switzerland for Iran or North Korea. Might that help you consider the content a little better, instead of getting stuck here? ]

President Bush, 2002 State of the Union address:

Iran aggressively pursues these weapons and exports terror, while an unelected few repress the Iranian people's hope for freedom. ...

States like these [Iraq, Iran, and North Korea], and their terrorist allies, constitute an axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world. By seeking weapons of mass destruction, these regimes pose a grave and growing danger. They could provide these arms to terrorists, giving them the means to match their hatred. They could attack our allies or attempt to blackmail the United States. In any of these cases, the price of indifference would be catastrophic.

We will work closely with our coalition to deny terrorists and their state sponsors the materials, technology, and expertise to make and deliver weapons of mass destruction. We will develop and deploy effective missile defenses to protect America and our allies from sudden attack. And all nations should know: America will do what is necessary to ensure our nation's security.

We'll be deliberate, yet time is not on our side. I will not wait on events, while dangers gather. I will not stand by, as peril draws closer and closer. The United States of America will not permit the world's most dangerous regimes to threaten us with the world's most destructive weapons.

Those words are as relevant today as they were then.

I suppose nobody claims Candorville is serious analysis. But at least he could be honest (especially with "candor" in the title). Alas, I ask for so much.

Update 7/7: It's impossible for some to believe, but the Bush administration actually evaluates each nation by its own actions and words. Iran, Iraq and North Korea weren't drawn from a hat for their place in his "axis of evil." They earned their place. What would it take for Darrin, and those who buy into the same "jingoistic frenzy" rhetoric, to actually consider that instead of glossing over it in reaction to Bush?

---------------

Further thinking (updated 7/6)...

The title. "Dishonest" is a little too strident. I feel kinda bad. But my alternatives seem more offensive. I'll let it stand. Update 7/7: Nope. I'm wrong to call him dishonest. He's playing on a theme I think is poorly thought out, but he sincerely believes it. That's not dishonest. Mistaken, but not dishonest.

In case you're wondering: Satire is fine. Satire isn't fair. Nobody (including me) expects it to be. Distortions can make caricatures funnier (if more absurd). How far to take them? Pretty subjective.

Cartoonists can have bad days. Everybody has bad days. You know I do. No problem.

Boiling it down, spelling it out: Satire is "irony, sarcasm, or caustic wit used to attack or expose folly, vice, or stupidity." But if, instead of "folly, vice, or stupidity," you substitute "the satirist's own complete fabrication," then attack that with "irony, sarcasm, or caustic wit," it's not really satire.

In fact, it's more of a scam, a fallacy. And helping you see that is what this blog is about. (And I gladly bear any ridicule for it.)

Even bigger issues. Even if it's not technically satire, why the humorless nitpick? I hope you're not too offended by this, but "satire" for many is really more about stroking our prejudices and pathologies than making us laugh. The bigger the satirical distortion, the more this seems true.

Special thanks. Maude: Thanks very much for the "segway/segue" correction.

By The Scrutinator @ 11:36 PM