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My encounter with an ex-President

The Ayatollah, by Graeme MacKay, c1980

The first time I gained an audience after delivering my earliest offering of political satire I was 12-years-old. It was 1980, and I was part of a generation of youth growing upon a constant diet of television news and Saturday morning mass marketing. The gag was a pop bottle being held up by the infamous leader of Iran alongside the caption “Drink Ayatollah Cola.” With the daily fear reminder of an angry, eyebrowed dude in strange garb from halfway around the world holding hostages and leading mobs in chants about death to America, the cartoon was instantly hailed by my classmates and was allowed to hang on the wall.

President Carter, by MacKay, c1980

From a Canadian kid’s vantage point in 1980, the world was clearly divided by good and bad. The Soviets, led by a wheezing, uni-browed autocrat named Brezhnev had his billing for the evilest bad guy challenged by the Ayatollah Khomeini, a real-life Darth Vader.  The good guys were the Americans led by President Jimmy Carter.

Plains, Georgia peanut

Being the leader of the free world brought with it the customary ordeal of ridicule and derision by comedians, satirists and editorial cartoonists. It was thanks to them that a brief moment of history was culturally defined by a big, toothy presidential grin on giant peanuts, caricatures by Dan Akroyd on SNL and across newspaper editorial pages. It was a golden time for an aspiring cartoonist to begin honing his skills.

I was too young to delve deeply or understand much about the details of domestic turmoil the USA faced during the Carter years. I do recall picking up bits of gloom about an energy crisis, of stagflation, of malaise and the fact that the youngest Kennedy brother had an ax to grind about an unpopular President.

The lasting memories of the Carter years for this 12-year-old-foreigner’s mind are the global events of a never-ending hostage crisis, a Summer Olympic Games boycott and a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel.

Jimmy Carter wearing a Jimmy Carter mask

Fast forward 40 years later and that same President was photographed amidst a pandemic wearing a toothy grinning Jimmy Carter face mask, designed by yours truly.

The news of this came through a series of tweets beginning with a question to followers by the American Association of Editorial Cartoonists Twitter account asking if anyone among us designed face masks. Since I do run an online shop of history caricatures I replied. That led a cryptic reply with a photo of a senior wearing a mask under the handle @peanut_brigade. Then, to a Google search of a July 31 article in the Las Vegas Review Journal. 

David Osborne, an accomplished musician who plays piano at Las Vegas’ Bellagio hotel, is also known as “Pianist to the Presidents”, for the number of White House performances he’s made over the past several decades. He and Carter have built a friendship over the years. On the eve of Osborne receiving a music award in his home state of Oklahoma, the pianist received a texted photo of the masked ex-President by Jimmy Carter himself. He then shared the photo with the Las Vegas newspaper. 

Jimmy Carter swag

If only I could go back in time and tell my 12-year-old self that I would one day draw a cartoon of Jimmy Carter’s smile and Jimmy Carter would wear it on his face!

Jimmy Carter has built a very respectable standing in his post-presidency years. Unlike others, he hasn’t used public life to enrich himself financially. Instead, he’s lived a long life advancing human rights and helping to improve the quality of life for people around the world.

Even in their mid-90s Jimmy Carter and the former First Lady Rosalyn, continue to devote themselves to public service by doing what a sitting President is loathe to do, promote the use of face masks in the time of a deadly pandemic.

That’s a noble cause to put pen to paper to, or in this case, Presidential pearly whites.

Jimmy Carter smile masks are available through Graeme’s online store www.mackaycartoons.net, $2 from each sale goes to Habitat for Humanity Hamilton.

Jimmy Carter Face Masks are available through Graeme’s shop on Redbubble

MacKay’s Carter Editorial Cartoons

May 16, 2002

 

May 2, 2012

Facing Face Masks

(Graeme is currently enjoying a Summertime respite from his usual duties drawing editorial cartoons. In the meantime, please enjoy this illustration highlight of things on offer for purchase through his Redbubble online shop. Graeme’s daily satire returns on September 1, 2020.)

Redbubble introduced face masks as a new product available for artists to design and sell a month of two after the WHO declared a COVID-19 pandemic. At first I held off adding them to my shop, skeptical knowing they aren’t medical grade PPE and wondering if they only provide false senses of security. The evolving opinions oscillating among varying degrees of effectiveness delayed my enthusiasm until the push back began against a solidifying scientific consensus that they actually do work in controlling the spread of the virus. A mouth covering whether medical grade, homemade, or in the form of a novelty mask as in the case of what’s on offer at Redbubble, the bottom line is that any mask that covers the nose and mouth will be of benefit. 

April 14, 2020

I’m firmly in the trust science camp when it comes to my own existence living through a pandemic. Experts have been for years predicting the scale of what’s happening right now in the world and there have been plenty of recent scares to prepare us for these times from SARS, H1N1, swine flu, and Ebola to name a few.

The biggest one of all in modern history was the Great Pandemic of 1918, with an uncanny number of similarities to the Pandemic of 2020 as I pointed out in this post of newspaper clippings from a hundred years ago. Then as now, were the skeptics, the contrarians, the religious zealots, the anti-science kooks, and the lunatic political fringe, all rallying against public health & safety measures, calling them a conspiracy, a hoax, a plot against rights & freedoms, an over-reaction leading to the destruction of the economy. 

To me the pandemic skeptics delight in showing themselves as skeptics by acting like stubborn refuseniks shunning face masks in public. One sees them all the time when out and about, with their masks hanging below their ears and chins in shows of defiance of mandatory rules.

Meanwhile, people are dying because of this infection.

If any authority is going to realize those deaths more than any other authority it’s going to be government. It’s government (most of them, anyway) that’s telling us to keep a distance from one another, and government is telling us we need to wear masks, because they are being guided by scientists. There’s always an inclination to mistrust government in many other areas, but advice on how to protect oneself during a pandemic isn’t one of them.

My answer is masks are going to be here for a while, so as we’re using them to protect us and others, why not get on the growing bandwagon to express ourselves?  I am happy to help, and here’s a few to consider:

JFK
Shakespeare
Masks
Oscar Wilde
Pope of Mope
Masks
Darwin
HRH

Please have a look to see the many more masks of this particular style on offer through the MacKaycartoons store with quotes and without. If you think you have a particular statement that might go well with one of the personalities I’ve drawn do let me know and I’ll post it up.

Did you hear about the famous person who shared a photo of themselves wearing one of my mask designs? Stay tuned for more about that in a coming post.

Sock it to ’em

Dazzling Socks of Canadian Prime Ministers

Above: Robert Borden, William Lyon Mackenzie King, John A. Macdonald

 

Above: Canada’s Prime Ministers, Pierre Trudeau, The Trudeaus: father & son

Above: Brian Mulroney, Macdonald and Laurier, Stephen Harper

Canadian Rebels and Fighters

Above: Emily Stowe, Nellie McClung, Louis Riel

Above: Rene Levesque, William Lyon MacKenzie, Young Doug Ford

Many many more Prime Minister & Rebel socks at Redbubble

Presidential Socks

Above: Presidents – Republicans, Democratic, and Mixed

Above: Abraham Lincoln, Founding Fathers, Theodore Roosevelt

Many Many more socks of Presidents of the United States at Redbubble

Monarchy Socks

Above: British Kings and Queens of all eras

Elizabeth II, George IV, House of Windsor

Many many more Monarchy socks at Redbubble

…And many more socks of personalities from the past

 

 

Redbubble Swag: Of Kings and Queens, Emperors, Czars and Wannabes

(Graeme is currently enjoying a Summertime respite from his usual duties drawing editorial cartoons. In the meantime, please enjoy this illustration highlight on offer for purchase through Redbubble. Graeme’s daily satire returns on September 1, 2020.)

House of Tudor socks

You may be familiar with my depictions of each King and Queen through English and British history. Whether it’s simply the bizarre pomp, weird clothes, or the complex social impact they had on civilizations for centuries, they represent an intriguing chronology of human history and culture.

The ermine, the crowns, the jewels, sceptres, orbs, funny hats and regalia – how can anyone not appreciate all that wonderful, ostentatious bling. It’s as fantastic to draw as it is to gaze upon. There’s a reason why the crown jewels at the Tower of London can only be viewed from a conveyor belt moving humans along because of the non-stop line of people who want to look at them.

ER mug

While monarchy as a form of government can be applied to many parts of the world through history, and still does today in various forms, it is the constitutional structure in Canada that is of particular interest to me for obvious reasons being a Canadian. The British monarch applies to this country as the rock solid foundation of power and authority abiding by limits prescribed within an established legal framework. It affirms order in times of peace, with good government, to paraphrase the expression that goes as a pretty good slogan among the realm states of the mother country. They have for a thousand years acted on desires to expand their influence and have fended off external challenges by those seeking to expand their own powers. They have had to contend with many rebellions from within and have adapted accordingly, surrendering human control along the way and all the flaws that come with human nature, to codifying a structure of order, justice, rights, and freedoms.

British Monarchs through the ages pandemic mask

But it’s the human faces of the institution that has stirred countless passions among humanity over the centuries from cultish followings of loyalty and devotion, to utter contempt and hatred. It is the longest soap opera of the English speaking world, with big bold leading figures coming and going through the ages providing volumes of dramatic storylines. From the battles: the victories and the losses; the struggles with the church; the politics; the culture, the literature, the art, the architecture, the music and theatre, there is much we owe a debt of gratitude to the royal figures who led Great Britain as these blossomed.

British Monarchy Merch

“To mask, or not to mask. I know the answer.”

While William Shakespeare isn’t exactly British royalty he sure saw the soap opera nature about them. Writing plays about Richard II, Richard III, Henry IV,  Henry V, Henry VI, and even the biggest Henry of them all, Henry VIII.  Incidentally, he also wrote about Roman Emperors, and there’s a design I offer of Julius Caesar.  

England’s King Henrys

Speaking of Henry, how about just King Henry socks. All the Henrys on one sock – ask yourself, has there ever been such a thing? Is there anywhere else on the planet one can find such a product?  Ideal for the British history buff, or for the Henrys in your life, these socks cover Henry I (1100-1135), Henry II (1154-1189), Henry III (1216-1272), Henry IV (1399-1413), Henry V (1413-1422), Henry VI (1422-1453), Henry VII (1495-1509), and Henry VIII (1509-1547.)

 

Thomas Cranmer coasters, you ask? Why not?

Thomas Cranmer was a leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, the boy-king Edward VI and, briefly, bloody Mary I. He helped build the case for the annulment of Henry’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon, bringing about the Church of England. Dude wore colourful robes and funny hats. Unfortunate for him was his belief in the supremacy of Kings and Queens, which didn’t go over well with Queen Mary, a rebel Catholic child of Henry VIII. Under her reign he was dragged to a public square and burned alive. 

Louis XIV t-shirt

Designs on offer are not just restricted to the English monarchy. There is a caricature of Louis XIV, King of France, otherwise known as the Sun King (1643-1715.) It was his long 72 year reign as an absolute monarch clinging to the notion of Divine Right of Kings, his failure to reform state institutions which arguably contributed to social dissent leading years after to the French Revolution. Which Frenchman gained more than any other Frenchman because of the French Revolution? Napoleon Bonaparte, of course, but like all other heroes against the establishment, Oliver Cromwell immediately comes to mind, both eventually fell into the trap as pretenders to the crowd, and both have designs of themselves in the MacKaycartoons Boutique.

Czar Vladimir Putin spiral notebook

Speaking of crown pretenders, they may not be a monarchs, but there are two heads of state who might easily be viewed as such considering things they’ve said or done or enacted. Vladimir Putin, has been ruler of Russia since the days of Bill Clinton.  Putin has overseen numerous changes of his country’s Constitution which may effectively find him ruling like a czar over Russia for many years to come. In case you’re not into him being depicted in all that regalia, there is a standard design of  a suited full-bodied Vladimir Putin.

 

King Donald Trup sticker

Donald Trump is all about golden flourishes on his over the top real estate holdings, so much so that he disparaged the digs handed to him when he won the U.S. Presidency. Accused of trying to rule like a king, he declares his admiration for autocrats and oppressive regimes Of our times that wouldn’t be out of the ordinary from 12th century England. 

Statues… and Prime Ministers, Presidents and Monarchs

(Graeme is currently enjoying a Summertime respite from his usual duties drawing editorial cartoons. In the meantime, please enjoy this illustration highlight of things on offer for purchase through his Redbubble online shop. Graeme’s daily satire returns on September 1, 2020.)

June 12, 2020

Statues are getting pulled down on past leaders because the bronze cast honour bestowed upon them are based on long ago glorification among long dead elites, whose decisions and actions are offensive to modern day sensibilities. Those dead elites aren’t around anymore to keep their idols polished, nor the narratives about them sanitized.  One might argue our ancestors and their leaders had thoughts and outlooks antithetical to our own, and it’s important to know the good AND the bad about them.

Sir John A. button

Canada’s Prime Minister gets acclaim and respect for his role in the formation of the nation, yet Sir John A. Macdonald‘s government also enacted a racist head tax to prevent Chinese people from entering after the completion of the CPR, as in the much celebrated “iron road runnin’ from the sea to the sea“. This after 17,000 labourers from China were brought in to accomplish Macdonald’s dream of a cross country railway. 

Jeffersonian Clock

A great Founding Father, the third President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, gets acclaim for being the principal architect of the Declaration of Independence and penned the statement “all men are created equal”. This, despite owning 600 African slaves over his lifetime as a wealthy landowner.

King John Magnet

The Magna Carta is a royal charter of rights sealed with the stamp of approval by England’s King John in 1215. To this day it’s a celebrated omnibus act that brought about many reforms including guaranteed access to swift justice and the trial by jury system. King John himself was a man of dubious character, with many mistresses, illegitimate children, and not a lot of morals. His accepting of the Great Charter was essentially a gesture to quell rebellion from barons who were sick and tired of his reckless behaviour, incompetence, and disastrous military conquests.

Interpretations of historical figures change with every generation with broader cross sections of cultures increasingly deliberating on legacies from the past. Taking down statues does not erase history but it does destroy the blind glorification aspect of figures from our past. Taking down statues in public squares removes insult to injury aspect of glorification that has shown to continue to this day. 

The dictator magnet

Political power is something I’ve always held a great interest in observing. Whether it’s hereditary, oligarchy, or democracy, to view how the cream rises to the top is a very fascinating thing indeed.

I grew up in Canada, and when I was young and well aware that we had a Prime Minister and a Queen representing the highest offices in the nation, it was what I saw south of the border that I realized the power and influence of Presidents went global in significance. From the chronologies of humble beginnings, the pursuits of power, the victories, the challenges, the familiar trappings of office, the mystiques, and the legacies defining a period of time on this planet’s history, it made me wonder what it took to become President of the United States.

The Presidential placemat available on 70+ products

I embarked on learning about the Presidents, courtesy of my family’s World Book Encyclopedia, which had wonderful profiles of every one of them complete with full page portraits. It was my introduction to the familiar placemat style of chart showing each U.S. President, which I recall spanned from George Washington to James E. Carter. Every night before dinner I’d flip through pages, and commit all their names to memory.

Alas, not being American made me unqualified to ever hold that position. So, I looked closer to home and studied Canada’s Prime Ministers. That naturally led to an interest in history, and politics, which paved the way to university life in the nation’s capital, and finally, editorial cartooning.

Placemat Prime Ministers on a pillow & available on 70+ products

In 2014, I embarked on an experiment to cater to a niche audience interested in Canadian Prime Ministers. Fortunately, I live in a young country with half the number of leaders compared to the United States. My drawings have seen some nice sales, with my most popular drawing being the rather obscure and short lived in-between Prime Minister, Sir Charles Tupper. Perhaps people are enamoured by his impressive sideburn chops!

Full figured Presidents

My caricatures of Presidents have seen a bigger number of sales since posting them back in 2015. Based on sales, the earlier Presidents enjoy greater popularity than the newer ones.  George Washington, John Quincy Adams and Theodore Roosevelt are among the most popular. The President whose caricature has garnered the most sales is Lyndon Johnson. Out the blue I’ll see an order made for a child’s sized t-shirt with a full bodied caricature of, say, Chester A. Arthur, and wonder what the story is behind that sort of purchase (a man, by the way, who arguably possessed the most handsome mutton chops of all Presidents.)


My latest series is the Kings and Queens of England. Another fascination I have for the history that the monarchy is steeped in, which I’ll have more to say in the next entry.

My caricatures on products are designed to stir a bit of fun, interest, and reflection on the pursuit of history knowledge. Whether they’re on t-shirts, or socks, cups or coasters, they’re a little reminder of the interesting characters who’ve shaped history. If you love history, or know someone who does, these are great ways to express that passion.

Just remember, unlike a statue, you can toss a t-shirt in the laundry basket, rather than roll it into a nearby harbour.