Originally published in the Grand Rapids Business Journal, January 17, 2005.

This week's comic started to percolate about three months ago. I was reflecting on the impressive level of dislike that many Americans (just short of half I'd say) have for our then (and now ... sigh) President Bush. It reminded me of some classic New Yorker magazine comics from the 1930s. For you non-cartoon historians, you'll just have to believe me when I tell you that one particular recurring theme was the urban, upper-class, old money folks and their *hate* (with a capital HATE) for President Roosevelt. These cartoons poked fun at the nonsensical degrees of this hate -- gentlemen, otherwise sober and earnest, who would throw childish tantrums at the thought of Roosevelt telling them how to invest their money.

There are many consistencies and many contrasts with today, and I've not quite worked them out, but the one striking thought I've had is this: Guess who the New Yorker readership was? Urban, upper-class, old money folks. So the very readers who were being poked were the ones enthusiastically buying the magazine. Definitely a more classy time.

Anyway, related to all this is the fact that Roosevelt is the one who came up with and implemented the Social Security System. The same Social Security System that the Bush administration wants to tweak (or "dismantle" or "fix," depending on you party affiliation). When the Social Security System was created, its basic purpose was to keep Americans, particularly old folks and the disabled, from starving to death. I think we'd all have to agree that it has been fairly successful. But if you don't believe it's the government's job to keep people from starving to death, that's certainly okay. Just say so.

After all, it's a new era where we can all stand proudly and say with unflinching conviction, "We should torture enemy prisoners and bomb them if they torture ours." "It's fine to ignore famine victims but give tsunami victims top priority so we can spread democracy throughout the world." "Let's execute death-row inmates quickly before the whole system gets bogged down with that new-fangled DNA evidence." All without guilt or shame.

So why when it comes to Social Security are we getting this "crisis" malarkey from the Bush administration? If W is such a straight-shooter, why can't he just state his true purpose and not be all melodramatic and overwrought like the acting in a silent movie? And this is where the comic came together.

Throw in the following:

* A dig at the Bush administration for apparently buying the services of opinion columnist, Armstrong Williams, http://www.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/01/08/bush.journalist/

* A local tie (The Grand Rapids Symphony is going to be screening and performing the music for Charlie Chaplin's silent movie, "The Circus" this weekend.)

* Plus the vision of those urban, upper-class, old money folks I talked about earlier going to a symphony

And you have yourself one very dense editorial cartoon.

Oh Glory!