Dr. Seuss’
books are a lot
of fun to read. My favorite is `Horton
Hears a Who’. The cartoon of this
classic is superb. What is
particularly striking about this story is how it accurately portrays the prolife
struggle to protect the unborn. Within
the storyline we see a friendly elephant, named Horton, make a profound
discovery. He picks a flower and is
about to discard it when he hears a voice emanating from it. No, the flower is not talking, but there
exists life upon it that is. A tiny
person called a `Who' lives on the flower. The Who
is too small to be seen by the unaided eye.
In fact, there is an entire city of Whos inhabiting the flower. They are defenseless and if discarded would
likely perish. Horton is amazed that
such tiny beings inhabit the flower and shares his discovery and its
implications with his friends. He wishes
to protect the Whos. This is a profound finding: one that
signifies a parting from the previous status quo of his society, to a new
obligation to protect the previously unknown Whos. It makes the viewer wonder how many other
flowers have Who cities: With Who
fathers, Who mothers, and Who children inhabiting them. And how many Whos had been unknowingly
eradicated by ignorance.
