Memes and quotes Luke Andaya

 

        The topic that I have chosen for the memes is about the stimulus checks that the government are providing and my thoughts/complants about them. As we all know, the COVID pandemic shook the United States to it's core and almost no one was really prepared how hard it would affect us and the economy. From people being laid off from their jobs, small companies that were going steady and now struggling, to people who were doing fine before the pandemic who are now trying to figure out how to pay for bills and groceries because they were laid off, many Americans have been struggling for almost a whole year from the pandemic. Personally, I even know a few that have been greatly affected by the pandemic finannically wise. What has the governement done to combat COVID-19? They have gave out direct reliefs for Americans across the nations, better unemployment benefits, aids to schools, small businesses and other measures. However, it is not enough. In the topic of the stimulus checks, Americans have only recieved a total of $1800 in the span of almost a year as of right now; $1200 in April and $600 in December. Especially with the gap in between the two checks, this is not enough to support familes all over America. Despite this, people in the government are arguing that these two checks so far is enough for familes to survive with. 

    These memes can be used as political art because of how many other Americans also believe in this issue including myself. Even though these memes formats are very popular like the Drake one which is years old and is being used in a jokingly matter, this is a pretty serious matter and the memes do bring out our points and arguements in a quick and fashionable way. A quote from Kimberly Drew's interview with LA Times was "It was not just enough to be angry,” Drew writes. “I had to be strategic.” which I can relate this quote to with the usage of memes. This is because memes are generally quick and straight to the point which gathers people who also agree fairly quickly, so using these memes strategically would be the way to go to make our voices about this issue louder.