Call me Crowzy
- Waadl Cartoonist
- May 6, 2024
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 7
Drawn on April 11, 2024 | Published from Miami |
Thinking for oneself is no guarantee for thinking wisely. In fact, this independence frequently tempts toward intellectual shortcuts, where endeavors of inquiry deteriorate into something far less productive. Indeed, what begins as honest skepticism can devolve into liberal ignorance: a condition where gut feelings trump reason, paving the way for rogue cynicism. A cynic, after all, is an idealist turned inside out — a state of contradiction for contradiction’s sake. Cynical contrarians are ripe prey for revisionism — the reshaping of reality to obscure empirical facts. This conflation distorts distinctions, like mistaking 'expansion' for invasive 'expansionism' [more here], labeling liberal sexuality as social deviance, equating a record-breaking stock market with a healthy economy, denouncing all legal jurisprudence as corrupt, or dismissing scientific peer review as industry manipulation. You get the idea…
This rabbit hole of contrarianism is fertile ground for many people to chase validation for their wild distrust — a vacuum filled by unorthodox authority figures with a populist slant. This desperate pursuit of countercultural ‘Truth’ often unearths shameless oddballs: cynical, unqualified disruptors with dubious credentials.
Donald Trump is the head honcho charlatan, but astute disciples lurk close behind — con-artists claiming to possess hidden, indemonstrable proofs of their own. More snake-oil salesmen stand ready to peddle persuasive nonsense, preying on the vulnerable who buy in ‘just to be safe.’ Or as Denis Diderot once said in his tongue-twisting 18th Century publication [1]:
"We are as likely to believe too much as to believe too little."
— Denis Diderot, Pensées Philosophiques, 1746.
A black velvety bird from Parkland, Dallas, quietly cawed of RFK Jr. cozying up to controversial GOP donors — a courtship dating back to October 2023. The subtlety of this grift makes it easy to overlook, but it begs the question: does offering something 'different' from the 'mainstream' really present an alternative candidate — or merely an alternative reality?
As a rule, the caution one applies when evaluating the homeopathic benefits of alternative medicine or alternative media should extend to this so-called 'Independent' nominee. Backed by dangerous people, RFK Jr. has revealed himself as a liberally ignorant man, poised to govern with wildly incoherent ideas that flout even the most basic chemical principles of our local Universe [2]. Yet, strangely, these glaring disqualifications haven’t hindered his emergence as a troubling tertiary contender for the presidency of the United States — leader of the Free World.
This raises an important point about the structure of U.S. politics, often mistakenly understood as a strict two-party system incapable of reflecting the whole population. Despite fringe Trump Republicans' blatant efforts to recentralize power around the presidency alone [more here], it's worth reminding that the POTUS is not — contrary to popular belief — the end-all be-all ruler of the North American continent. Though influential, the executive branch operates alongside legislative elections every two years, opening the possibility for broader representation. In the last decade, this structure has increasingly favored the formation of coalitions — similar to those in European parliaments — that hold the power to amend or veto rulings based on constituents’ interests.
Fewer political parties might seem like reduced representation, but it doesn’t inherently mean less diversity. Nominating an independent free radical like RFK Jr. may appear to boost multiplicity, but, like a failed placebo, his positions add little advocacy-equity to the disruptive political heterogeneity he claims to be the hero of. Instead, his contrarian candidacy feeds the cynical delusion that independent thinking automatically leads to nurturing a wiser representative collective, even as its leader’s pipe dreams present a clear public health threat [3].
Proper skepticism demands a prudent application of rationality — not ignorance veiled as wisdom, nor pseudo-science dressed as alternative theory. The same principle applies to alternative candidates. With that in mind, could RFK Jr., a walking punchline, be anything other than the worst of both?
Vote skeptically, not cynically.
Please, enjoie the Godwinian cartoon!
[1] Original French; “On risque autant à croire trop qu' à croire trop peu.”
[2] Reuters (2024) RFK Jr. on abortion, vaccines, housing and foreign policy | Reuters, Reuters. Available at: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/rfk-jr-abortion-vaccines-housing-foreign-policy-2024-03-20/ (Accessed: 2024).
[3] Citation Update:
Allen, A. (2024) How measles, whooping cough and worse could roar back on RFK Jr.’s watch, NPR. Available at: https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2024/12/06/nx-s1-5218574/rfk-vaccines-anti-vaccine-infectious-disease (Accessed: 13 December 2024).
More Reading
RFK Jr. pushing fake studies at FDA: Marks, P. (2024) ‘FDA’s Peter Marks on Vaccines, RFK Jr. and How to Reach Skeptics’, The Wall Street Journal, 5 April. Available at: https://www.wsj.com/health/healthcare/peter-marks-fda-vaccine-regulator-rfk-jr-interview-9194e3b4(Accessed: 7 April 2025).
