Caricatures in Politics

We need not take time to get to know people, need not see them for who they are, because the media will offer us a brief snippet and in many instances we accept that as all we need to make an assessment.
This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email.

Racial politics in the United States has risen to the forefront of national debate in the last few months in a most turbulent and volatile fashion. This comes as little surprise given the lack of honest, necessary dialogue over the last few decades, but nonetheless the R-word threatens to dismantle one of the greatest presidential campaigns in American history. The mere existence of Barack Obama has elicited some of the best and the worst that America has to offer, be it from former presidents and other elected officials, from media pundits and community leaders, all the way to the rank and file of the voting public.

Perhaps the greatest difficulty some have with Senator Obama's presidential candidacy is that they cannot hate him. While he is not without fault, he has painstakingly demonstrated his humanity in his writing, teaching and political careers. Indeed, he is far more aware of his own complexity, and far more gifted in his ability to explain it, than most of the media ever could, let alone the Clinton and McCain campaigns.

When unable to portray Senator Obama in caricature, the mainstream media opted instead to offer his longtime pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Senator Obama's guilt became that of association, not of any act or deed on his own part. That the Reverend has managed to eclipse his caricature in a manner unflattering has only added fuel to the racial underpinnings of the 2008 election cycle.

Political caricatures often trigger the use of cognitive shortcuts--heuristics--and manipulate deeply held feelings we may not even be aware of as we attempt to navigate the never-ending complexities of the world around us. We need not take time to get to know people, need not see them for who they are, because the media will offer us a brief snippet and in many instances we accept that as all we need to make an assessment. We need not expose ourselves to those who look differently, love differently, or arrive from a different nation. The media will do it for us... in whatever manner they choose.

Political caricatures are particularly harmful for marginalized groups, be they poor whites or ambitious women, racial minorities or lesbians and gays. Whether it's the use of terms like "welfare queens," "illegals," or "pansies", as referred to by Gov. Mike Easley only a week ago, these caricatures often deny our individuality and demean entire groups of people. For specific communities that have suffered historically, and that have been excluded from political, social, and economic elites, the use of these problematic caricatures only provides additional rationale for their continued exclusion.

The greatest culprit in this debacle, by far, appears to be the media. That campaigns have capitalized on such political opportunity is expected, however off-putting and tasteless. That the mainstream media and 24-hour news channels have enabled the current political climate seems both irresponsible and opportunistic. That is, they have profited and continue to profit from the perpetuation of incendiary racial stereotypes that seem clearly intended to induce racial divides and intercultural discord.

For example, take the issue of immigration and Lou Dobbs on CNN, who seemingly LOVES replaying images of latinos scaling the border wall between the United States and Mexico. Many members of Congress (from all nationalities) have expressed to me their discontent with Mr. Dobbs's show. There are very complicated dynamics when addressing border politics and the fluid nature of national identity for Mexicans and Mexican-Americans, in addition to a large number of Latin American groups. These people, their families and their cultures were in place long before any artificial borders were drawn and any walls were built. But still, the American public is repeatedly shown a few scruffy men scaling a wall, then running away like fugitives.

We now live in an era of painfully short attention spans, and a rather unfortunate inability to seize opportunities to become a stronger, more credible society. In a world utterly saturated with soundbites, talking points, and 15-second images on the television screen, will the American public demand the depth and breadth needed for informed decision-making or will the majority rely on these silly and often irresponsible caricatures when and where the media opts to provide them?

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot