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Originally Posted by JinnKai
Are you the artist? Do you know what he planned to "indicate?"... What is the difference between "all servicemen" and "The US Army as a whole" ?
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I'm not the artist. I think you already suspected that. Obviously this is only one man's interpretation and opinion - and I only write it to explain my first reaction to the cartoon as being tasteless (post #2). My assessment of what the artist "indicated" is based on 2 pictures within the cartoon and the small bit of text at the bottom - material that all of us can see plainly. I think all of us are qualified to give our opinions and interpretations. There's room in the world for more views than mine.
At any rate, in my mind the difference between all servicemen and the US Army as a whole is that the latter includes the health of logistical, recruiting, funding, public perception, and supply systems (as I indicated in post #27). This distinction is why I don't think the cartoon is clear in its target - most TFP readers seem to be focussing on individual soldiers and medical/injury related issues rather than the system, which I interpret to be the basis for the cartoon.
Roachboy (post #30, point 4) - if you are talking to me as a "conservative" who attacks the cartoon based on taste issues, I hope this post clarifies that my assessment of the artist's taste has a lot to do with the fact that I think the cartoon is sloppily targeted while using an incendiary metaphor, which I see as indicative of artistic laziness. Also (if you are speaking to me), I don't appreciate being painted by your rather wide conservative brush as if my motivations and judgments can be explained by your idea of contemporary conservative ideology, which may or may not even apply to me. In particular, your comments on the relationship of conservatives to the art world are off base - you are aware of my relationship to the arts. Not only that, but your characterization is far too simple, as it fails to acknowledge that some of the periods of highest financial support for the NEA have been during Republican administrations (which also has nothing to do with me). If you weren't speaking to me, then I apologize for taking offense - I hope you understand that I don't like being the target of generalizations.