2012-10-02
Explanation
An alien arrives on Earth in a flying saucer and delivers a menacing ultimatum: "Our planet is running out of shallow platitudes. If we run out, we will die. And if we die, we will take you with us." The alien then adds ominously, "We will return every 125 million seconds for harvest. But be aware... every cycle... our hunger grows." In the final panel, a man turns to his wife and says, "Honey, explain to him how the election cycle actually works." The wife responds, "I want to start with something believable?"
The joke operates on two levels. First, 125 million seconds is roughly four years -- the length of a U.S. presidential election cycle. The alien's demand for "shallow platitudes" on a regular cycle mirrors the predictable flood of empty rhetoric and hollow promises that characterize election campaigns. Second, the wife's retort that the alien invasion scenario is more believable than how elections actually work is a cynical commentary on the absurdity of real-world politics. The comic satirizes the election cycle as a machine that produces vast quantities of meaningless, feel-good language at regular intervals.