If you don't know me, and maybe even if you do, you should know that Horton Hears a Who! is one of my all time favorite children's stories. I loved that book growing up and was excited when I found out it was going to be made into a full length film. Back then I was only excited because I was getting to watch one of my favorite stories on a movie screen. I was watching that movie today on my iPod at work and discovered another reason to love that story even more. It's relevant to what's happening in America today. Let me explain.
In the story Horton, an elephant, discovers a small world on a speck of dust. He then makes it his mission to protect that speck of dust and will risk everything, eventually including even his life, to protect that community. Meanwhile the Mayor of Who-ville is noticing that things aren't quite right and consults with one of his trusted friends who says their world could be destroyed if they cannot find a "safer, more stable" home. The mayor, and his friend are the only ones in town who believe this. The city council believes things should go in another direction and do everything they can to show that the mayor is crazy and is not to be believed and that everything is "just fine". They even do things during the movie to distract the citizens of Who-ville everytime the mayor tries to bring it up.
In Horton's world the local "authority", the Sour Kangaroo, is trying to discredit Horton as strange and unstable. The population of the Jungle of Nool not wanting things to be disturbed go along with their "government". During one scene the following dialogue is spoken:
In the story Horton, an elephant, discovers a small world on a speck of dust. He then makes it his mission to protect that speck of dust and will risk everything, eventually including even his life, to protect that community. Meanwhile the Mayor of Who-ville is noticing that things aren't quite right and consults with one of his trusted friends who says their world could be destroyed if they cannot find a "safer, more stable" home. The mayor, and his friend are the only ones in town who believe this. The city council believes things should go in another direction and do everything they can to show that the mayor is crazy and is not to be believed and that everything is "just fine". They even do things during the movie to distract the citizens of Who-ville everytime the mayor tries to bring it up.
In Horton's world the local "authority", the Sour Kangaroo, is trying to discredit Horton as strange and unstable. The population of the Jungle of Nool not wanting things to be disturbed go along with their "government". During one scene the following dialogue is spoken:
Sour Kangaroo: "Are we going to let troublemakers like Horton poison the minds of our children? When Horton tells our children about worlds beyond the jungle he makes them question authority, which leads to defiance, which leads to anarchy!"
The crowd: "We have to do something....for the children! FOR THE CHILDREN!!"
Eventually things begin to happen, such as snowing in summer, strange earthquakes and unusual winds and the citizens wake up and understand that the mayor was right. Once the citizens know the truth they stand up against the government that is telling them something else. The citizens voices are finally heard and both creatures trying to bring the truth to the population are vindicated and the civilization survives.
If that's not a perfect parallel to what's going on today, I don't know what is.
We have a government trying to force legislation through many times attached to education bills and other laws to protect the children. We have them doing things to distract us like dealing with a birth certificate or giving us cash for clunkers or global warming. Things that in the grand scheme of things are stupid or irrelevant, or a waste of time and money. They're setting things up to get us dependent on the government.
We have people trying to get the truth to people. Great Americans like Glenn Beck, or Sarah Palin, or Ben Stein, or Sean Hannity. The people's voice is slowly being heard and things like healthcare are falling apart because it's not what the people really want. The government is trying to do things before the citizens have a chance to react.
Authority is meant to be questioned. Not to defy them, but to know the truth. Never take anyone at their word. Trust them, but do what you can to learn the truth. Questioning authority does not lead to defiance or anarchy. It leads to understanding and the truth.
When the citizens voices' are heard, the government has no choice but to listen. When the citizen's voices are heard, their world can be saved.
When the citizens voices' are heard, the government has no choice but to listen. When the citizen's voices are heard, their world can be saved.
