In the panel I examine from the comic The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation, there is a theme of putting the constitution in the context of how the government modernly serves the American population.   The excerpt I am looking at is guided by the preamble of the document, dealing with the general goals that the founding fathers wanted the nation to provide for itself.  This visual text showcases written text verbatim from the preamble of the constitution.  It displays a few of the basic terms that may be drawn from this section.  It is clear that these terms may have changed throughout time in regards to what it means to put them into practice, but that they have not changed in meaning.  This shows what it means for the constitution to be a living document.

The text in the first part of the panel says “...establish justice…”  The judge banging his gavel gives a stern impression.  He is drawn harshly, with sharp lines that put his cheekbones and the tendons in his hands on stark display.  He is colored in two tones only.   All of these attributes give this man, who is meant to represent an embodiment of the law, a feeling of concreteness.  It implies that the law will separate good and bad and prove that there is nothing in between.  He is the force Americans want to govern their country: a person that can draw an enforceable line between what is right and what is wrong and knows what is proper punishment for what crimes.  The use of onomatopoeia makes it very striking.  Its use shocks the viewer into trusting this man who, for all the confidence of his gavel-striking, must know what he is doing and firmly believe in whatever it is.  The irony in this black and white portrayal of justice in relation to the constitution lies in how interpretive the document has proven to be.

“Ensuring domestic tranquility” means working to prevent acts of terrorism and wars on American soil. Although the suburbs aren’t a direct product of domestic tranquility, Aaron McConnell still chose to use them to illustrate his point.  The picture he gives the viewer is meant to be a demonstration of the sort of peaceful lifestyle that Americans can build for themselves when we are given the chance.  With suburban life being such a picturesque and nearly integral element of the concept of ‘The American Dream’, the illustrator decided to go down a sentimental route and tap into the patriotic side of the viewer. 

The next blurb of text says “... promote the general welfare…” and depicts several instances in which the public or environment has problems that necessitate government interference.  One scene shows a manmade incident: an oil spill that is affecting the wildlife in the immediate area.  This touches on the issue of environmental consciousness in American companies, which has been a very pervasive political issue for America.  Aaron McConnell believes it to be one of the government’s duties to care for the issues that any reckless companies may have caused.  Just to the left of it is a wildfire, which provides a nice contrast to the spectrum of problems the country has that the illustrator says the government should help with.  The one instance the illustrator provides of something that directly affects the population is the one with the social security office.  This creates a spectrum  that shows, from the left to the right, areas that directly affect humans to something that directly affects us and the environment to one that directly affects only the environment.  It also shows what appears to be the Hoover Dam, a government funded construction project that became an iconic American feat.  

The last portion of the panel provides a visual lineup of voting milestones achieved throughout America’s history.  Despite the obvious progress this shows, in order to have this sort of progress there must be a place to have progression from.  There are a few very recognizable figures alongside those who could only be described as laymen: cartoon people drawn simply enough so that anyone of the time they are meant to represent could identify with them.  The first people in the lineup are markedly only white males.  They are dressed in 17th century garb, which is fit for the birth of America.  These men accurately and fully represent the voting population of their time.  Further down the line we see someone who appears to be a black man, representing the creation of the fifteenth amendment allowing African Americans to vote (although this amendment was rendered nearly useless due to Jim Crow laws).  Not long after we see a white woman in line to vote, representing the suffragette movement.  The text says “...and secure the blessings of liberty.”  This, in combination with the illustration outlining the inclusiveness added into the United States Constitution, makes the U.S. Constitution genuinely feel like the “living, breathing” document it is so often described as.  

The American government is an ever evolving form of order: as society grows and advances it is left trying to protect us from the complications generated by what we create.  The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation demonstrates how America has changed since it has been founded and shows how the adaptable, general ideas of the constitution have held up against these changes.  Its illustrations display the services of the government and what it currently helps to provide for the public.  By depicting its terms in relation to a modern context, the text suggests that the document remains usable and that it will not lose its relevance anytime soon, despite being written in a time wherein society’s norms were entirely dissimilar from what they are now.  As more and more of America’s population is given its deserved rights, America’s constitution is amended, but its central theme of human rights is one that holds up against time.
