Political Cartoons say it with a smile

Cartoons are a powerful but often overlooked communication tool.

Cartoons are easy to understand regardless of your age, education or language. They work well for people with little time scanning social media on phones. Cartoons can get your message to people across the political spectrum. Use cartoons in your messaging to reach more people.

Take a look at these cartoons from Political Cartoons and judge for yourself.

Humor with a purpose

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Why are cartoons effective communicators?

People absorb and retain information better through images than words. Cartoons extend visual communication with humor. An image draws your attention and even without reading a word, you get the message. Take a look at this cartoon and you can see how it explains that FOX News is dividing American for the sake of its profits. The man with the gold cufflink represents the wealthy using FOX to polarize American society. And the cartoon does all this without saying a word.

Political Cartoons

Cagle Cartoons is a syndication service for newspaper editorial page editors that distributes political cartoons and columns to over 800 subscribing newspapers. Their content appears in over half of America’s daily, paid-circulation papers –and we’re seen in magazines, Web sites and all manner of international publications. They represent an impressive list of the world’s most talented and diverse editorial cartoonists.

Daryl Cagle has been one of America’s most prolific cartoonists. He worked for 15 years with Jim Henson’s Muppets, illustrating scores of books, magazines and all manner of products. is the owner of Cagle Cartoons and get permission to reprint his cartoons at PoliticalCartoons.com.

Fox News race baiting

Rules For Radicals

Saul Alinsky in his classic book for organizers, “Rules For Radicals” recommends using ridicule which is found in most cartoons to make your point (Alinsky Rule #5). Here is a list of Alinsky’s rules from Open Culture. Read Rules for Radicals online for free here.

1. “Power is not only what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have.” Power is derived from 2 main sources – money and people. “Have-Nots” must build power from flesh and blood.
2. “Never go outside the expertise of your people.” It results in confusion, fear and retreat. Feeling secure adds to the backbone of anyone.
3. “Whenever possible, go outside the expertise of the enemy.” Look for ways to increase insecurity, anxiety and uncertainty.
4. “Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules.” If the rule is that every letter gets a reply, send 30,000 letters. You can kill them with this because no one can possibly obey all of their own rules.
5. “Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon.” There is no defense. It’s irrational. It’s infuriating. It also works as a key pressure point to force the enemy into concessions.
6. “A good tactic is one your people enjoy.” They’ll keep doing it without urging and come back to do more. They’re doing their thing, and will even suggest better ones.
7. “A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag.” Don’t become old news.
8. “Keep the pressure on. Never let up.” Keep trying new things to keep the opposition off balance. As the opposition masters one approach, hit them from the flank with something new.
9. “The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself.” Imagination and ego can dream up many more consequences than any activist.
10. “The major premise for tactics is the development of operations that will maintain a constant pressure upon the opposition.” It is this unceasing pressure that results in the reactions from the opposition that are essential for the success of the campaign.
11. “If you push a negative hard enough, it will push through and become a positive.” Violence from the other side can win the public to your side because the public sympathizes with the underdog.
12. “The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative.” Never let the enemy score points because you’re caught without a solution to the problem.
13. “Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.” Cut off the support network and isolate the target from sympathy. Go after people and not institutions; people hurt faster than institutions.

TakeAway: Lighten up! Use some humor and cartoons in your messaging.

Deepak
DemLabs

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Reposted from Democracy Labs with Permission