In Our Humorless Age, The New York Times Has Cancelled Political Cartoons

I'm afraid this is not just about cartoons, but about journalism and opinion in general. We are in a world where moralistic mobs gather on social media and rise like a storm, falling upon newsrooms in an overwhelming blow. This requires immediate counter-measures by publishers, leaving no room for ponderation or meaningful discussions. Twitter is a place for furor, not debate. The most outraged voices tend to define the conversation, and the angry crowd follows in.

We need comedy and cartoons. We always have, whether in ancient Greece or modern midtown Manhattan. We need to laugh at ourselves, at the absurd condition we find ourselves puttering around in. That the New York Times has acquiesced to fear and decided to stop running political cartoons is a shame, but a likely one.

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