Confederate Monuments-Satiric Article
This satirical article, titled "As your doctor, I am protesting the removal of your tumor because I don't want to erase your medical history," uses irony and humor to make the point that it is completely ludicrous and illogical to leave the Confederate monuments in their places and not remove them. Using the form of a doctor's note, Bob Vulfov uses an extended simile comparing these offending monuments to a life threatening tumor. The satirical tone comes in by taking the stance of those who do not want to remove the Confederate monuments, and showing how ridiculous and silly their view point sounds when compared to a tumor. The "doctor" explains that he views the tumor as an "important symbol of your body's history and heritage" and this history should be celebrated and "prominently displayed inside your body." This is how those who wish to protect the monuments make their case. They claim that these monuments symbolize the history of America and removing it would be like erasing our history, which sounds crazy if you liken the monuments to tumors which need to be removed for the health of the patient. Why would one preserve or celebrate something that is detrimental to their health and could cause illness to take over their body? This same question could be asked to those who wish to protect these monuments. Why would they preserve or commemorate these memorials that are detrimental to our morals and values as a society and could cause injustice, racism, and discrimination to rear its head once again and take over our country? Another point of satire comes in when the "doctor" explains why he is so passionate about leaving the life-threatening tumor inside the patient's body. "What's next?" he asks, "Prescribing medication for your pain?" pointing out the inane "slippery slope" that would come about from removing the tumor. It is obvious that he is being sarcastic and ironic, and making the point that dismantling these monuments will have only positive repercussions for the future, and will lead to a better society as opposed to a worse one. Vulfov also uses play on words such as "medical correctness," an allude to political correctness to further the humor and irony of the article, as well as a reference to the misguided views of today's liberal America who are more concerned with being politically correct than taking initiative and righting the wrongs in society. Overall, the use of satire throughout the article is instrumental in making the point that leaving the Confederate monuments standing and preserving/memorializing them to preserve history is as illogical as leaving a harmful tumor in your body for the sake of preserving one's "medical history."
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