Ubiquitous Bush Caricatures Ignite Widespread Apathy

From Witsend Daily – According to a recent study conducted by a Witsend think tank, Tanked Thoughts Paradox, George W. Bush’s caricature is the most recognizable image in the world, surpassing the real-life images of Bono, Charleton Heston, Bill Gates, Desmond Tutu, Osama bin Laden, Oprah, and himself. The study also indicated a direct correlation between the ubiquitous Bush caricature and the apathetic contagion that has caught afire and spread across the globe. “For the longest time, the United States has taken an isolationists approach to containing apathy,” said Constance Madigan of the Witsend think tank, “but with increased globalization, apathy is no longer an American commodity.”

Over a two-year span, the Witsend think tank conducted a series of studies at Witsend Elementary, measuring the cause-effect relationship between Bush’s caricature and apathy, and how this correlation has impacted student test scores. “Caricature recognition begins at an early age,” said Madigan, “and it’s important to measure how they’ve been impacted by a man caricaturized with over-sized elfin ears, exaggerated laugh lines, and whose diminutive stature is often cloaked in baggy cowboy duds, cowboy boots, and a 10-gallon cowboy hat. This can be a very traumatic experience for an impressionable child. These images don’t just go away.”
When asked who their favorite cowboy was, 87% of those surveyed said George W. Bush, followed by Wyatt Earp (5%), Jesse James (4%), John Wayne (3%), and Yosemite Sam (1%). “The line between reality and fiction has blurred for kids today, and with NCLB looming, some of these kids may be left behind the lines.”

The Witsend chapter of the L.I.C. (Life Imitates Caricatures) Society wasn’t at all surprised by the findings. “There’s a reason we switched affiliation from C.I.L. (Caricatures Imitate Life) to L.I.C.,” said John Clooney, president of Witsend’s L.I.C. chapter and curator of the Witsend Caricature Preservation Society. “George W. Bush has made us rethink our perception of who's imitating whom.”

Thanks to the Internet, Bush’s caricature has infiltrated cultures all over the world, spreading apathy, or “our way of life” across the globe. Google recently introduced its modified search engine to China and when googling images of George W. Bush, only caricatures of Bush appear. Fearing the Bush caricatures will have the same apathetic effect on its people as the United States, many countries are trying to ban his caricature. Bush responded to this banning, “This is just another reminder that there’s a lot of people in the world who are threatened by our way of life. The spread of caricatures is an essential foundation of freedom, and we need to protect these freedoms at any cost.”