Life — November 12, 1914 — page 17: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page from *Life* magazine (appears to be WWI-era, based on "thirteen million soldiers") contains two satirical cartoons critiquing militarism and war. **Top cartoon ("Simple Comforts of Age"):** Depicts elderly men dining together, labeled with military ranks and afflictions—"Colonel Bogey," "Major Premise," "Captain Industry"—treating war-related hardships as casual dinner conversation among the comfortable classes who don't fight. **Bottom cartoon ("The Lamb's Idea of the Millennium"):** Shows pastoral peace, contrasting sharply with the poem's dark sarcasm. The verse mocks nationalist propaganda by asking whether widows will truly celebrate their husbands' deaths "for the king"—exposing the disconnect between patriotic rhetoric and actual human suffering. Together, these works satirize how those in power (the elderly, the wealthy) profit from or philosophize about war while working-class soldiers die, and how jingoistic language masks the tragedy of mass casualties.