P-B is the context which informs the identity of virtually all of humanity individually and collectively. As human beings we have evolved to a point where we have developed a dependency on the intellect and technology—they have become our gods so to speak. They have also become obstacles to our shifting to a sustainable paradigm, to Simple Reality. In Benjamin Blooms taxonomy of thinking skills, the three higher level skills are analysis, synthesis and evaluation.
These thinking skills work in understanding and interpreting political cartoons in the following way:
A contemporary political cartoon is composed of symbols that represent such things as people, nations, activities, and events. For example, Uncle Sam represents the United States and a canon could represent war. The war may be a war on terrorism or the war on drugs. Now let’s apply our higher-level thinking skills.
Analysis is the first step which involves identifying or breaking down the cartoon into its constituent elements or symbols, that is, identifying what each symbol represents. Next, the symbols are all put back together into an inter-related whole or “synthesized.” That synthesis enables us to interpret the meaning of the cartoon as a whole or what the cartoonist is attempting to communicate.
Finally, the responsibility shifts to those of us looking at the cartoon. We have the opportunity to make a value judgment, for example, on whether we agree with the cartoonist or not. What does the cartoon mean to us? In the process of evaluation or giving our personal opinion in the context of P-A, we attempt to enter the realm of truth and beauty. If we attempt to do that within the context of P-B, we fail to make a profound evaluation because we will be working only with our intellect which by definition is not capable of making profound “feeling” value judgments.
The false self knows the value of everything but the truth of nothing. If we can see the cartoon through the eyes of the present moment then we can transcend reaction and respond to the truth that flows from our inner wisdom. Only then are we able to profoundly evaluate what we are seeing.
