Iraq Fireworks - A Cartoon about Freedom

Published Jun. 16th 2007

Iraq Fireworks

Usually I only say a little bit about each of my cartoons, but I realized today that this fireworks cartoon is going to be harder for me to sum up.

And at first I was just doodling some firecrackers and rockets and sparklers, thinking of the 4th of July. Then it turned into something else entirely.

Ever consider why we even celebrate the 4th with fireworks? It’s kind of odd, but we’re actually celebrating the bombs and explosions that brought us our freedom.

Today, Iraq is stuck in a similar fight for freedom—albeit with deadlier weapons and much more tangled issues than the US dealt with over 200 years ago.

So I kind of put the two together.

As just a firecracker cartoon it ended up looking more menacing than celebratory to me, no doubt because the violence in the middle east is still so real.

But hopefully it will also make you think a little about what freedom costs, and why we treasure it so much.

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