In the cartoon Shutting Out The Light by Sam Armstrong, there is two men (who are radicals), standing in an empty wooden cottage. One of them is hammering down some pieces of wood to block out the light coming from the sun. The sunlight stroking in through the cracks are worded, "truth", "Americanism" and "public opinion." And the pieces the man is hammering are worded, "foreign radical", "language papers", "insidious red propaganda", "radical publication" and "soviet doctrines." While he is doing this, he tells the other man, "Sunlight is unhealthy anyhow!" .
I chose this image because it clearly portrays the views of radicals against the Red Scare, the public opinion and tells you why they did not favor the war. They are blocking the sunlight because they don't want to be influenced by other people's views. Rather, by choosing to stay in the dark, they are imposing their differences, which is why they are called "radicals" in the first place. And I had always admired the idea to be different, the view not to be influenced by others, which is why I chose this image. I think this image favors individualism in the sense that it does not always follow the societies views, it does not believe in using Americanism as an excuse to wage war. Rather, it uses common sense to think of Americanism as a means of propaganda, which is what inspired me the most. .
The significance of this picture is mainly that it goes against what majority thinks. It inspires courage not by just being a "radical" but by also taking action and by not giving up easily. In the picture, the radical not only avoids what he does not want to hear but also fights back with what he believes to be the true picture. For example, he believes the Red Scare is propaganda and the Soviet doctrines have influenced the U.S to enter the war. So, these are the kinds of things he hammers against the stroking sunlight. This image clearly captures the essence of WWI period, which is another reason why I chose it.
