The War of '08

When Brodner  asked me to contribute by to the Show Artists Against the War,  I thought I’d have an easy time coming up with an appropriate image.   Instead I found the process a bit daunting.  It’s such an open-ended subject.  On one hand I did not want to come off being flip  and on the other I did not want to create something knee-jerk either.  I had to find the right balance of flippy-knee-jerky-ness-smug-profoundousity.

Thinking about this war and what it meant to me was an interesting process. I came to the realization that I did not think much about the war and that was part of the problem.  I thought I should refresh my memory on how we got into this mess.

OK.
9-11: blame Osama Bin Laden and bomb Afghanistan to dust.
check.  Made some sense. Missed the Osama part though.

OK.
Sadam has WMD’s and harbors al qaeda..
Got Sadam, No WMD’s  … no real al qaeda, until later…
check.  (boner!)

OK.
Quagmire.  In a mess and to not look stupid we get into a bigger mess.  blah blah...Democracy!  Oil!... add your option here...

“Fight them there so we don’t fight them here.” BS.
What happened to home field advantage?

I don’t think too many people think about this war on a daily basis.  I would walk the streets of New York and see young people buying I-pods and sneakers without a care in the world.  Clearly this is not the WW2 war effort at home. I see no victory garden’s,  No posters saying “loose lips sink ships.”  No conversion of factories to the war effort.  No rationing.  The biggest thing of all:
No Draft.   Guess that would be a deal ender.

I suppose some would argue, we fight the war so we can buy I-pods and walk around wasting oil, that's the American way.  yeah, ok...
 
I called my piece: “The struggle at home”
 
Vote.  There has to be a better way to do things.

Come to the opening on Jan. 9th at The Society of Illustrators.