The Littlest Devil

I was resident editorial cartoonist on a British newspaper. There is no point in wisdom unless John Doe understands it enough to practice it. So, it was my job was to catch his eye and pre-digest my editor's heavy column on a serious situation into one silly drawing. Not easy: it made great demands on lateral and diagnostic thinking way outside The Box.

Cartoonists often use illustrated allegories: for example, "Trump at the Mad Hatter's Tea Party". But my reader would not assume from my choice that I was a devout believer in dormice in teapots. The allegorical vehicle need not be true as long as it is well-known and yields the necessary metaphors. We also use established icons like "Uncle Sam". My underlying intent is pragmatic and humanistic. As far as I am concerned, the cover serves as a cartoon in the hope that the reader will read my serious editorial.

My naïve little devil, like "Gulliver", travels time and space asking unwelcome questions on behalf of us Yahoos after we have descended onto what we fondly believe is the Great High Ground of Perception and Reason and started to Google. Littlest encounters equally strange characters and surreal situations. He trudges sadly through the paradoxical mud of Good and Evil that is our road of Life. In this Action and Reaction physical existence, there is no such thing as intrinsic Good and Evil. Every action regardless of intent - sends out waves of disorder that may result in both. Both sides in a dispute have a case rightly or wrongly to put. Since many believe that the range of this extends into the supernatural, I have to address believer and skeptic alike. So the allegorical vehicle starts at a stable in Bethlehem.

The bottom line is that, regardless of manufacturer, we are all products. To continue to survive and function, we need to abide by the user manual. And the User Manual of Life may be described as Charity. We must live in peace and support, protect and cooperate with each other. This demands open-mindedness; transparent communication and humbling empathy. And the most empathic creature we know of is a newly born child. The child on the right of the cover serves as the icon of the Wholly Righteous; my Little Devil on the left represents the rest of us Fall Guys. Child must meet child, understand, smile and forgive.

If God does not exist, we sure as Hell going to need Charity. If He does, He should be well-pleased. A win-win situation for Believer and Skeptic alike. At the very least, it will make a happier world. Pure Hedged Bet Insurance. Let us cease bickering; take out the insurance and survive whatever road awaits us. To some, Faith may be the end. But in my book, Hope is the End and Charity is the means. In the very last scene, Eden blooms again; the sun rises and a bird sings.

Dettagli