Pen Commandments

Nothing gets cartoonists more self-righteous mail than when we mix religion and politics. But when we go too far ... well, aren’t the truly faithful obliged to forgive us?

Accepting our engraved images often requires a leap of faith. Still, whether we’re truly enlightening or just lightning rods, we abide by our own set of unposted commandments: We attacketh our leaders when they commit doltery. We keep holy the satire. We know not what lies beyond the deadline, save that there is surely another. We believe in a puffy, pearly, classic cartoon heaven, where we lounge in ink-spattered robes, sitting in joyful judgment of those with oversized halos. But we fear a more familiar and harrowing hell: Sweating over an eternal, infinite expanse of blank paper, no muse or savior in sight. Just a pitchfork-wielding, red-faced editor, to whom we say: Thou shalt not kill a cartoon, even if some may call it sacrilege.