Life — December 5, 1918 — page 8: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Political Content Analysis The central cartoon depicts a figure falling upside-down, captioned "Optimist: GEE! I HOPE I LAND ON THE KAISER!" This is a WWI-era satire referencing Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany. The "optimist" joke suggests that even falling helplessly, someone would hope to land on (harm) the Kaiser—expressing intense anti-German sentiment during American involvement in the war. The text above describes a "Pro" (presumably a German-American) who left Germany opposing militarism, but during WWI became a "conscientious objector" to American war efforts. The narrative criticizes him for refusing to support America while displaying German patriotism, suggesting disloyalty. Together, these pieces reflect 1920 American suspicion of German-Americans during and after WWI.