Man's heart away from nature becomes hard. ~Standing Bear
The literal interpretation of this week’s toon is: Stinky likes the sunset. And Rebel, because he cannot see it (he’s got sunglasses on and is busy cleaning his gun), is perplexed by Stinky’s comments.
However, there’s something more fundamental revealed about the characters here. For Rebel, it has to do with his inability to appreciate the beauty of the natural world and his inability to connect with another who can (Stinky the skunk). Rebel, sadly enough, may be beyond redemption. In him there is only hopelessness. Although they are pals and Stinky (a hapless, uneducated, redneck skunk) has a lot in common with Rebel, we can’t help feeling that there is still hope for him. When we can connect at some level and share in experiences that enable us, if only for a moment, to transcend our differences, then there’s still hope for us.
There are those among us, like Rebel, who cannot share the more tender aspects of their inner life with others either because they haven’t got any tender aspects (unlikely), or because (more likely) they are guarded and hardened against feeling and expressing them (this is called repression). To a liberal wussy who’s chock full of tenderness, these folks come off as being mean and scary. Sadly, this makes them unapproachable.
Now to engage in a bit of stereotyping (I’ll be sure to stereotype the pantywaist liberals some other week). These mean and scary kind of folks come wrapped in a few different types of packages. Here are a couple of them:
Package #1: NASCAR fan, camouflage baseball hat (Oakley glasses on the bill), “F*** Obama” sticker on the bumper of an F-150 next to a (somewhat faded) “Freedom Isn’t Free” sticker. If you turn over some rocks and dig around a bit, you’ll find them expressing themselves (no tenderness, just meanness) on anti Obama web sites. Read the first post, it’s from a Texan.
Package #2: Sports jacket and a tie with an American flag on the lapel. “I am Dick Cheney” glasses. White skin. You’ll find them in places where conservative businessmen like to gather (The Heritage Foundation) and the Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise.
I can’t say which is the meaner, scarier type. What I do know is that to the typical lefty both can seem unapproachable and, consequently, unreachable.
But what sentiments does the typical lefty evoke in the typical right-winger? Rage, contempt and disgust seem prevalent. To the righty, the lefty must seem equally unapproachable and unreachable but for different reasons.
The more important question is where does this leave us? A couple scenarios:
Scenario #1: It leaves us standing on either side of the Grand Canyon. The one on the right looks out upon otherwise valuable land ruined by erosion. The one on the left sees the glory of the world infected by the human race. If one could just get their hands on the other, he’d chuck ‘em off the edge.
Scenario #2: After a long, arduous hike down, we meet at the bottom. We delight in the fact that we’ve survived, build a campfire, roast marshmallows, and marvel, in quiet togetherness, at the starry sky. We do not discuss politics or religion. Then one kills the other in their sleep.
Scenario #3. After a long, arduous hike down, we meet at the bottom. We delight in the fact that we’ve survived, build a campfire, roast marshmallows, and marvel, in quiet togetherness, at the starry sky. We do not discuss politics or religion. We wake to a glorious new day and after a hearty breakfast, we begin the long climb, up and out.
