Cartoons and Cultures

For those who bought into Rousseau’s Social Contract, a joke can be taken lightly, and expected.

In the 80’s, Culture Wars were a way out for economic woes in the West (Salman Rushdie). Now it’s back in Paris, overshadowing The Interview (last year news already!). The difference between then (80’s) and now (2015) lies in the degree of violence and viral spread. I have just viewed those French cartoons on Huff Post (and one on Washington Post). Am I to be fearful for what could happen to me? It could have been safer just to view pornographic materials.

These are some of the counter-productive things I can think of:

– religion and its malpractices turns me off ( to the point of throwing the baby out with the bathwater)

– the cartoonist has turned martyr, elevating Paris threat level and standing as world’s champion of la liberte

– even with all those manhunt frenzies, things tend to die down and fade out quickly

– we project our hopes and fears on the cave’s wall, calling them gods and their reps (from Jim Jones to Myung Moon)

– sex, violence and religion, in that order, will continue to fascinate and dominate the news. Hollywood will always be the first to get this.

Not sure who has the last laugh. But this version of Culture Wars, guns seem to have a stronger say than mere rhetoric.

Both sides are now armed, not with plowshares, but with swords.

Sur le pont d’ Avignon, we see not Rousseau’s romance but religious rage which further incites men’s hatred, mistrust and fear. Rousseau would need to come up with Social Contract 2.0 to appease all sides. And while at it, it’s best to use Google’s translation to clear up any misunderstanding and misreading of the text.