TOW #17 Happy (not at all) Groundhog Day... (What a great movie!)

It's that time of the year again. February has just begun, and besides being the birth-month of some incredibly important people (namely, me and Abraham Lincoln, February 12th all the way) there are some other major yearly events too. The beginning of February means the end of football season,  and (we can only hope) the end of winter. Or at least, it’s announcement, which is promptly determined by a groundhog.  It’s an incredibly odd system that we’ve come up with. Every year we set a groundhog loose and base our weather predictions on it’s view of it’s shadow. If he sees his shadow, it’s six more weeks of winter for us all (joy...) and if he doesn’t, THE END IS NEAR. Each year, our own personal morale for the next 6 weeks is determined as PA citizens by a groundhog. This entire event is reflected in this hilarious (albeit depressing, as I am a believer in the powers of Puxsutawney Phil) political cartoon:

The image reflects the classic scene, a crowd of hopefuls decked out in excessive winter gear stand awaiting the approval of a groundhog. There are newscasters and little kids, it's not just a superstition, it's a huge spectacle. The weather in the background shows a bright sun, contrasting greatly with the snow on the ground, and yet it so accurately depicts the unlucky streak that we’ve been having all over. It’s frustratingly accurate, and humorously so, the entire thing is kind of a joke. The author of this cartoon, whether he be a believer or not, clearly understands the impact that the groundhog has. He depicts the groundhog as a self-aware little guy  who is in denial. I’m sure NOBODY wants more winter, not even him. The groundhog, covered by vast white “snow” is hanging out on a lounge chair with a Hawaiian style shirt and lemonade. While this depicts the sad reality of our holday, it also represents the hopeful society that we have. Even though we know it’s goign to be a cold, long winter, we still muster up the spirit to celebrate anyway. Happy groundhog day, I’m off to go see the movie.
http://www.politicalcartoons.com/cartoon/399d197f-52a6-4754-8158-7bcfd0b8cf60.html