The Comics Page (for the New Year)

From Harvey Pekar's American Splendor #8, 1983:

America is a violence-loving country where people like John Wayne and even criminals like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Bonnie and Clyde are considered heroes and heroines. America is a country where the successful man is thought to be the rich man, where honesty, diligence, outstanding scholarship and artistic achievements that bring no financial reward are looked upon with indifference. America is a country where t's considered O.K. and even clever to break the law as long as you can get away with it. Richard Nixon wasn't disgraced here because he was dishonest. People had known he was crooked for a long time; he was disgraced because he got caught. Add those factors up and it's no wonder you got a lot of people who want money and material luxuries and are willing to use illegal means, including violence, t' get them. If they're caught, they're considered losers, but if they get away with it there'll be plenty of people in this country that'll praise 'em.

January is the time for resolutions. I have a few - to spend my money wisely, to keep writing little essays for this blog, to get better at a few things and follow up on some others. But my biggest resolution is a continuation of a process I really started in earnest last year - to consciously and intentionally be a kind person, someone who will leave others feeling better than they were before we saw each other. I don't have much power in the world beyond myself, and in a year when the problems that surround us can feel oppressive and unrelenting, I think making sure that what I can control is doing good things, not mean ones, will be all the more important.

I try to keep politics off of this blog, so I'll let you draw your own conclusions from this post. But I hope that all of you have a wonderful 2018, and that we can all come together rather than being set against each other. Happy New Year!