No, it's not the final episode of The Love Boat, it's the all-American reality show, Shopping for Handouts! We all know that the US economy seems to be going under for a number of reasons that I won't dive into here. Let's just say that a culture of delusional, self-serving thinking and rampant narcissism seems to pervade our society on many levels, from the halls of the nation's capital and the boardrooms of Wall Street to the 3-bedroom ranches of the suburbs and beyond. We also hear boatloads of mendacious, self-exculpatory chatter attempting to justify every greedy, opportunistic, and selfish act. Such talk (and the accompanying irresponsible behavior) serves to capsize the speakers occasionally, so their loose lips may scuttle their own little dinghies as well as helping swamp the ship of state.
After struggling to stay afloat and avoid sinking into a sea of doom and gloom, I've finally yielded to the absurd and my sense of humor and am tossing in my two cents worth (which is about all I have left after paying my taxes) about the state of the nation, the State of California (which now has a budget shortfall of over forty billion dollars), and the three-ring circus that's recently sailed into town and set up its tents, complete with a number of endearingly stupid (albeit amazingly greedy and amoral) clowns. But after all, it's better to laugh than to cry! (It goes without saying that this cartoon is not meant to portray any actual person [certainly not poor little deprived octomom Nadya Suleman !] but rather symbolizes what seems to be the zeitgeist of our great nation.) And may God have mercy on us all.
For some reason this image was never searchable on Flickr, which cut down on the number of views it should have gotten during the heyday of Sulimania. I have no idea why this happened: it remains a mystery known only to the Grand Panjandrum and far-seeing mystics of FlickrWorld.
America has now spawned another wannabee reality show aspirant. Somehow the Octomom reminds me of the latest American disgrace, the Sunderland family, whose 16 year old daughter had to be rescued from her boat in the Indian Ocean after losing her mast during a storm. Turns out her dear daddy has been shopping reality show ideas about his family's "adventures." Her mom, Marianne Sunderland, is expecting her eighth child, and "Octomom Sunderland" is suggesting that US taxpayers reimburse Abby's rescuers if those rescuers expect repayment. At the same time the family is soliciting donations from the public to bring Abby's boat home. Ain't is a shame when a gal ditches her 200,000 dollar boat and launches a rescue effort estimated to have cost over 300,000 US. Once again, I'm proud to be an American.
Fatih Goble 2009
Trinimusic2008, i_still_believe_in_u, DoodleDancer, october blue, and 14 other people added this photo to their favorites.
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dw ork 46 months ago | reply
WOW!! Stunning!
वाह! अद्भुत!
helena.vanova 46 months ago | reply
sandra.d. 43 months ago | reply
ahahahhaha, u are great! ;] marvelous cartoon!
Pat McDonald 17 months ago | reply
Wonderful writing Faith. Freedom allows our society to be selfish, self-seeking, greedy and, plain silly … it is the price we pay for freedom … the alternative is, I fear, no, I am certain, is worse …
Be proud to be American because in the big things you get it right … :-)