I have to admit, however, that a letter I received from a reader last week did trouble me.

The letter was in response to the editorial cartoon we ran in last week's issue, which was inspired by our lead story on page 1 about the massive data theft suffered by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The cartoon showed the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery with the caption, "The only vets not worried about identity theft."

"I was shocked to come across a cartoon making light of the VA security breach by using the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier," the reader wrote. "Our war veterans, especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice, deserve much, much better. To print this tasteless attempt at humor [at] all is shameful, and to print it on Memorial Day itself is beyond the pale."

This is the only letter I received that expressed that view, but I was bothered by it simply because I'm concerned that there are other readers who didn't write but who also feel that the cartoon was a disservice to our veterans. So it is important to me that the matter be publicly addressed.

As I explained in my response to the reader, the cartoon was not intended to be at all humorous. Editorial cartoons are illustrations that provide commentary on a particular issue. Humor is often used to convey the message, usually with some sort of visual metaphor. But the really poignant ones aren't funny. They may be witty or satirical, but they don't aim to make you laugh.