The Evolution of Political Satire

Throughout human history and civilisation, as long as there has been politics; political satire has existed, adding some muchneeded spice to humanity's rich cultural heritage. The flourishing world of internet satire with websites like the Daily Squib based on news and cultural headlines as well as politics are not only linked to the ancient world of Aristophanes, dubbed the father of comedy, satirising Athenian leaders and their conduct of the Peloponnesian War 2,500 years ago, but of the likes of Juvenal satirising everything from idiotic past emperors, women, migrants, rich people and the everyday follies of the masses. You may wonder where the famous phrase "bread and circuses" or "panem et circenses" comes from? Well, that's Juvenal describing how to shut the people up and stop them thinking about rioting. The same could be said today about fast food and Love Island, or the football.

 

 

The Daily Squib

 

This is why satire and politics in every stratum of society or cultural interest point is as important today as it was 2,500 years ago in Ancient Greece and Rome. Criticism of human foibles and political idiocy have not changed in thousands of years, and will not change for another thousand years. Political satire sites like the Daily Squib are as relevant today as they were thousands of years ago and serve an important purpose in giving the egotistical, corrupted buffoons of today a well-deserved bloody nose for their shameful flaws and many indiscretions. This is something the Squib does with intricate precision, almost akin to a surgeon unceremoniously scraping away at a fibula with his scalpel. As a consequence of the satirical sniper sniping away at his target, in the modern internet world, satire sites like the Daily Squib are feared by the plastic corporations and media yes-men who can only parrot what they are told to say ad infinitum.

 

 

Historical warnings

 

Satire endures many misconceptions, including that it should be inherently funny. This is not the case. In satirical literature sometimes horror, and grotesque verities are employed as a form of shock tactic on the reader. For example, George Orwell's novel about a dystopian society "1984" employed such shock tactics to warn us all the dangers totalitarian societies pose. Consequently, the Daily Squib today reminds its readers that many of the current conglomerates and Big Tech companies are nowadays acting like Big Brother of Orwell's 1984. Today, we have severe censorship of free speech employed by leading social network platforms and a little thing called 'cancel culture' which, as the name suggests, means total erasure for simply saying something that is not currently 'politically correct'. Cancel culture in ancient Rome possibly transpired to either being served up as lion feed at the circus, crucifixion, or possibly forced exile. Today's version of 'cancel culture' may not be as severe as previous eras, however people have been known to have lost everything including their jobs, careers, homes, family and lives.

 

 

 

Evolving through the ages

 

The evolution of political satire; from the forums of the ancient world, to the Canterbury Tales, to Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, to Charles Dickens and Mark Twain, to Orwell, Spitting Image, Brass Eye et al...are embellished with little crumbs of truth revealing all of humanity's myriad foibles and faults. This is essentially why satire is so powerful and revered because it brings forth thoughts from the audience that other forms of literature cannot, and choose not to address.

 

 

Political satire in the internet age

 

In the internet age, sadly, there are many setbacks to satire; and one of them would be how the attention span of the viewer has dropped dramatically, making the job of the satirist much harder. Secondly, the modern age is much more politically polarised and this precept affects satirical websites too. The unique thing about the Daily Squib is that it is rejected both by the left and the right, and despised by the supposed middle of the political spectrum. The editor of the Daily Squib Aur Esenbel finds this sweet spot as the ideal point to satirise everyone with equal vitriol. He seems to employ this to great effect and thoroughly delineates the Squib from a single political perspective. As sites like the Daily Mash and others all lean heavily to the far-left and sites like the Babylon Bee are right-wing evangelical Christians, the Squib abhors any form of totalitarian authoritarianism, or any man-made organised religion. This is why, the Daily Squib displays true satirical purity because it seems to be able to punch up, down, left, right and all directions diagonally whereas the others do not have this ability and are stuck within their blinkered impoverished world view.

 

 

Trials and tribulations

 

We must look at political satire as an important tool to realise our human foibles. Nothing is perfect, especially in politics. No one can please everyone at the same time. We can only hope that political satirists of the modern age are afforded a modicum of respect in their service to satire as a whole. In the fast moving pace of the internet world, news moves fast, and by the time one writes an article, that news has gone south already. Maybe that in itself could be the final satirical insult to the satirist of the modern era of light speed news. Satire is also misunderstood, it is called 'fake news' by the ignorant, but that is not the fault of the satirist, it is the fault of the modern dumbed-down education system. Even through all the mire, the misinterpreting idiocy and polarised zealots of what ever faction is trending at that given moment -- the Daily Squib endures -- not only with its tenacious indomitable rage but its ultimate enduring link always to the beginning of satire itself in the ancient world.