If you have ever wondered why we have the two symbols for the main political parties, then maybe I can help you out. First, we probably need an explanation for each that was taken from America (The Book), A Citizen’s Guide to Democracy Inaction by Jon Stewart, et al. By the way, I love this book. It is the most informative and hilarious book I have ever purchased that answers every question about politics that you were too afraid to ask. And, don’t forget to buy the “Teacher’s Edition” so that you can get the most out of the least factual data. It is funny. Here is Jon Stewart’s take on the two political parties…

The Republican Party is the party of nostalgia. It seeks to return America to a simpler, more innocent and moral past that never actually existed. (I would add a footnote here that there really isn’t a Republican party anymore, at least one that you could recognize).

The Democratic party are people who are utopians. They seek to create an America so fair and non-judgmental that life becomes an unbearable series of apologies.

Together, the two parties function like giant down comforters, protecting them from exposure to the harsh weather of independent thought.

So, now that you understand the two parties, let’s take a look at why they have the symbols they do.

The Donkey: This is the Democrats’ symbol which represents the type of stubbornness that forces a town council to put a menorah up in the square alongside the Christmas tree even though the town only has five Jewish families.

The Elephant: This is the Republicans’ symbol that represents the astounding memory of people who, if you say anything bad about them ever, they file it away in a Rolodex of spite…and then trample you to death.

But seriously, I guess you may still want to know how we arrived at these two symbols. Well, according to the teacher edits in Stewart’s book, President Andrew Jackson in the 1830s was ridiculed by his enemies by them using an image of a mule which is a sterile offspring of a male donkey and a female horse. And, cartoonist Thomas Nast used a donkey to lampoon Democratic candidates in 1870 while also popularizing the elephant as a Republican symbol in 1874. Then in 1896, when Democrats nominated William Jennings Bryan as their presidential candidate, it marked the first use of the symbol of the donkey as a positive emblem.

So, there you have it. I hope you enjoyed this little educational journey. We, at Blog4Brains, always strive to offer you the best in education, information and entertainment. I hope this served our mission well.