Peanuts

I was never much into Peanuts, but when this strip was published, I immediately cut it out of the Sunday comics and laminated it. Something about it struck me, and it's my favorite single comic strip to this day. I would probably call Calvin & Hobbes my favorite comic overall, but I can't say there was one in particular that I felt summed things up for me personally as succinctly as this single day's Peanuts.

Whether or not Charles Schulz had anything particular in mind when he wrote this, he had the good sense to leave it up in the air so nearly anyone can identify. There are any number of reasons to believe that the world has gone mad. It would be easy to make a statement regarding apathy, but Schulz went beyond that. By having Charlie and Sally reassure Snoopy when he barks at their window, I think Schulz is offering a more complicated commentary on complacency. Your watchdog might be looking out for you, but sometimes it's the intangible that is the greatest menace.