Christmas Cartoon

The point of this holiday cartoon is to show that Christmas has become something it was never meant to be. It has become just another big week of shopping and sales. People today seem to neglect the true meaning of Christmas; they should be giving thanks to God for sending His Son instead of looking for the next sale sign. However, in this cartoon it is hard to say if the artist is a Christian or not, but at least they acknowledge the fact that something is missing. The artist is trying to saying that there should be more focus on the family in the whole Christmas season and that getting gifts for people is not the proper method of showing how much you love them. With this being said, I completely agree with the artist. People are forgetting what Christmas is all about and really need to sit down and think about it.

There are many visual elements that support the artist's point. However, there are two elements that stick out the most, the lady who is shopping, and all the sale signs that surround her. The sale signs support the artist's point because it's exactly the kind of thing that he or she is speaking out against. It shows that the lady has been drawn to the store because she sees all the sale signs and is looking for a good gift for someone. People see the signs and think they are getting a deal, but few are actually smart or care enough to notice that they are not. This leads to the next visual, the lady herself. She is loaded with presents and has already whipped out her visa card to make the next purchase. She is the perfect example of the typical Christmas shopper, thinking that she has to buy that sweeter because if she doesn't get a gift for everyone someone is going to be angry. Again this shows that there is something wrong with people's view of Christmas. If your going to get upset because someone didn't get you a gift for christmas, then your spoiled and don't deserve one anyway. All this things agree with the artist's purpose for making this cartoon. CHRISTmas doesn't come from a store, CHRISTmas means more, much more.

A Tragic Example

This article by Jason Whitlock described how today's anti-education and pro violence view of things influenced the death of not just Sean Taylor, but other black men was well, such as Darrent Williams. He believes that a black kkk organization has sprung up and surprisingly, they don't kill white people, they kill black people. Go Figure. Whitlock also believes that hip hop has played a role in the genocide of black men. He asks what could you possibly expect from a race that celebrates murder, ignorance and incarceration? The only outcome could be just that. Whitlock states that we are the only ones who can change the rotten culture our kids have adopted. The only question is, how long are we going to let this continue or how bad does it have to get until someone does something?

In response to Whitlock's article, I must say I totally agree. This rap music that people listen to today does indeed promote murder, non-education and many other things. However, it seems to me that this is not only a problem with the members of black society but is becoming a problem in white society as well. I also agree with Whitlock's argument that we need to control what goes into our children's ears. Regardless of what they think, the music can affect them and cause them to act a certain way. We need to raise our children in a loving, God fearing environment and not let the ways of a corrupt society influence them and their decisions.

I have found that Whitlock's best use of parallelism occurs in the paragraph that states, "When your leading causes of death and dysfunction are murder, ignorance and incarceration, there's no reason to give a free pass to a culture that celebrates murder, ignorance and incarceration." Whitlock uses this to compare all the violence that occurs to the type of music that influences it, rap. How could we possibly create a better society if we allow music that promotes death, destruction, rebellion, and uneducation? It is impossible to build something out of absolutely nothing and that's exactly what this music promotes, reverse progress. Whitlock uses this to strengthen his article by showing people what happens to the unfortunate persons who follow this way of life sadly, Sean Taylor was one of them. So, in conclusion let this be an example to show what this is transforming our society into and let it serve as a level at which we should start building up our lives, the lives of our kids, and the lives of others around us.