Dearest Reader,

Among my parents’ papers was this political cartoon titled The Balance of Power. Because my father was an aspiring cartoonist who enjoyed studying the work of newspaper illustrators, I was not surprised to find a political cartoon among their keepsakes. What I do not know is whether he saved it because he admired the cartoonist, because of its message, or simply because it captured an important moment in history.

The cartoon portrays the Soviet Union on one side of a seesaw and “The Rest of the World” on the other. Between them is a plank labeled “Atom Control Plans,” suggesting that international agreements to control atomic weapons were viewed as the only means of maintaining peace. Created during the early years of the Cold War, the image reflects the growing concern that the balance between the world’s two emerging superpowers depended upon successful negotiations over nuclear weapons.

My father had a lifelong interest in drawing and cartooning. As a young man, he enrolled in correspondence courses in cartooning and commercial art, and throughout his life he appreciated the ability of a simple drawing to communicate a powerful idea. Whether he knew anything about the cartoonist who signed this work “Morris,” I have no way of knowing. It is possible he clipped and saved it because he admired the artist’s style or message, but that remains only speculation.

Whatever the reason, this cartoon survived among my parents’ personal papers rather than with ordinary newspaper clippings. Today it serves as a reminder not only of the anxieties of the early Cold War but also of my father’s appreciation for the art of editorial cartooning. In just a few pen strokes, the cartoon conveys the uncertainty of an era when the hope for peace rested on the fragile balance of international diplomacy.