Posted by: Bethany
Yeah. I know you think there’s no connection…but give me a second.
I meant to post about Abortion yesterday since it was Sanctity of Life Sunday. Abortion is one of “my topics” if you will. And really, I have no idea why I haven’t posted on it before now.
But here goes. In rememberence of all those who died…because of a choice.
I love Dr. Seuss. I really do. He’s funny. My kids love him. He writes grand children’s books. I can read them over and over and I don’t get tired of them.
Every year, at school, during the first week of March we celebrate Dr. Seuss. We read all of his books, we dress up as characters from the book, we have a parade, we invite guests in to read more of his books (he’s written over fifty), and by the end of the week our tongue is so tied from trying to read Fox in Socks without any mistakes (I think that’s impossible!)
One of my favorite books is Horton Hears a Who. I’ve always liked it. It was one of the first Dr. Seuss books I fell in love with as a teacher. So I usaully start the huge Dr. Suess frenzy by reading that book to my class.
Last year, as I listened to myself read, I almost fell out with a discovery. This book is pro-life. Now, I may be the only person in the world to think this (it wouldn’t be the first time I came up with something so original that no one else got it!). I’ve even read up a bit on Dr. Suess to see if he actually was pro-life. I couldn’t find anything to support my theory.
So…instead of you taking my word for it, I shall share a bit about the book. And then you need to go read it yourself. If you are pro-life you should read this to your kids. Even if Dr. Suess wasn’t, this book can be.
The story is about an elephant named Horton. Horton one day hears a noise and discovers that there is a colony of “Who’s” living on a dust speck that is about to fly into the water. He then rescues the Who’s.
Well, this nasty Kangaroo (I’ve named her Planned Parenthood, but you can give her your own name if you like) and her baby kangaroo think Horton has lost his mind. They are convinced he is trying to save something that does not exist.
Horton goes through great persecution as these wretched kangaroos turn all against Horton…insisting he’s crazy and trying to destroy the dust speck. Because it’s only a dust speck and nothing really, really alive.
Frequently Horton can be heard saying things such as:
I can’t let my very small persons get drowned!
I’ve got to protect them. I’m bigger than they.
Should I put this speck down?…
If I do, these small persons may come to great harm.
I can’t put it down. And I won’t! After all
A person’s a person. No matter how small.
and
Of course I will stick.
I’ll stick by you small folks through thin and through thick.
And while Horton works so hard to defend what he has discovered as a living thing he finds out more and more about “the speck”. Just as pro-lifers defend the unborn the discover more and more about them. Like how early a heartbeat can be found. How soon fingers are developed…
And back to Horton…
And then Planned Parenthood the kangaroo and her crew of followers can be heard making statements like these:
Why that speck is as small as the head of a pin.
A person on that? Why, there never has been.
and they bring the speck to the eagle (ahem. Abortionist) and ask:
Will you kindly get rid of this thing?
In the end of the story Horton does finally convince the kangaroo and the other jungle animals that there really are people on the speck of dust. It has a happy ending. I’m hoping our story will eventually have a happy ending too.
So anyway, maybe I’m nuts…but I saw a lot of connections. Maybe you will too.
And if you are disgusted and saddened…change daily from angry to sad about the safety of our unborn children…then you, like Horton and the animals he finally convinced to care for those to small to take care of themselves and make this promise:
From sun in the summer. From rain when it’s fall-ish,
I’m going to protect them. No matter how small-ish!
Update: January 24: Obviously many others have seen a pro-life message in this book (along with other Dr. Seuss books) as well. Guess I’m not that original after all.
January 23rd, 2006 at 10:26 pm
God can reveal Himself through anything. Even a dust speck full of Whos.
I love it Bethany. Personally, Green Eggs and Ham is my fave. I’ve done my son’s school on Cat-in-the-Hat Day the past few years. I have GE&H memorized with my own Sam-I-Am and “the other guy” voices. Great fun!
January 23rd, 2006 at 10:35 pm
Great post, Bethany. I personally haven’t read Horton in about a million years (it’s noti n our collection) but your post has convinced me: Horton is prolife=)
And I’m with Carol–Green Eggs and Ham is my favorite. I heard once that a guy in college wrote a term paper on it as “great literature” or some such. He got an A.
January 24th, 2006 at 10:26 am
Great insight.
Another Dr. Seuss book featuring Horton is just as life-affirming—have you read _Horton Hatches the Egg_? A mother bird decides she would rather have fun and relax than sit on her egg, so she abandons it to Horton, who is faithful through tribulations until the end. His reward is great…
January 24th, 2006 at 11:13 am
You know…I didn’t think about it…I have Horton Hatches an Egg as well. I really do like Horton. He’s my kind of elephant.
January 24th, 2006 at 1:53 pm
My kids love this story. I have seen that message in Horton also, although I don’t think I’m the first either.
I thought I remembered there being a bumper sticker with the line “A person’s a person no matter how small.” on it, so I googled it and came across someone (here’s the link http://www.thesneeze.com/mt-archives/000250.php )
who thought a different Dr. Suess book carried a pro-life message. I am not recommending this site, just googled it, and while the post was good the comments were not so edifying-I read a few and decided to stop.
Blessings,
Roberta
(I linked to you from Blestwithsons)
January 24th, 2006 at 4:39 pm
Well Bethany, looks like you hit on something. I never read any of the Horton books with my kids so I’m not familiar with it. Fox in Socks(?) was our fav.
January 24th, 2006 at 5:16 pm
I never thought about it… But I haven’t read that in a loooong time! So you’ve taught me something today! I shall go get a copy posthaste! You so cool!
January 24th, 2006 at 9:46 pm
I never thought of it like that, but now I see the “message” in there!
January 25th, 2006 at 11:41 pm
i never read that book yet but i like the way you told the story. sounds really interesting.
January 26th, 2006 at 7:57 pm
Ohhh, that gave me chills, really! What a discovery. I hope all is well with you.
Blessings,
January 27th, 2006 at 10:14 pm
Bethany - Dr. Seuss had so many “hidden” and not so hidden messages in his books. I read recently that Cat in the Hat related some how to the cold war. I think I have to read that one again. I had never thought of this. Thanks for pointing it out!
Happy two months!!!!
January 31st, 2006 at 12:20 am
Hrms. I believe Dr. Seuss was classic when I was a child. And I was born the same year as Roe vs Wade.
So there may be pro-life messages there, but if so they predate the decision ) Maybe by quite a bit.
February 7th, 2006 at 10:29 pm
I teach a morality class to high school juniors, and I have read them Horton Hears a Who every year before starting the lesson on abortion…in that context they pick up so clearly on the messagein the book. I love it when the lightbulb goes on and they realize what they will be discussing next in class. No mixed messages there!!!
February 9th, 2006 at 8:38 pm
[...] * Jo (Little Women) * Emily (Emily of New Moon, Emily Climbs, Emily’s Quest) * Horton (Horton Hears a Who, Horton Hatches an Egg) (Don’t you know Horton is pro-life!) So, if you want to join the meme, let me know. I’d love to go see your favorites!! [...]
February 17th, 2006 at 3:04 pm
It’s interesting that this book resonates so strongly with pro-lifers. Sadly, Mr. Geisel’s widow is protesting the use of the words “A person’s a person, no matter how small” as part of a pro-life pamphlet used in Canada. Her perspective is that her late husband (Theodore Seuss Geisel) did not take any position on abortion. On the other hand, Mrs. Geisel has set up an organization, “The Dr. Seuss Fund,” which she says benefits causes he would support if he were alive. One of the organizations supported by The Dr. Seuss Fund is Planned Parenthood.
We can’t know whether Mr. Geisel meant to include unborn babies in his poignant tale of defending the defenseless, or not. Clearly, though, whether Dr. Seuss saw it or not, the most defenseless group of people in our country today are the unborn babies. If we don’t protect them, who will?
August 15th, 2006 at 5:58 pm
Ok, if you guys look up anywhere about Dr. Seuss and Horton Hears a Who you will find that Dr. Seuss is in fact pro-choice. Dr. Seuss shortly before his death had planned to sue one of the pro-life campaigns for using the words “a persons a person no matter how small” as one of their slogans. I admit that Horton Hears a Who can be read in this way but judging by Dr. Seuss’ response to the use of his words i don’t think he wrote it for this purpose.
It could be said that this book was written for political reasons. Horton was written in 1954 when there was importance placed on Japan’s first vote since the 2nd World War. On top of that the book is dedicated to his friend Mitsugi Nakamura. Also Dr. Seuss visited Japan shortly after the war and he was concerned about democracy in Japan. Surely there is far more evidence for this than the abortion argument.
August 15th, 2006 at 6:51 pm
Actually, I’m really not concerned with whether or not Dr. Seuss was pro-life or not. Horton Hears a Who reads well as a pro-life message. And whether or not he meant it as pro-life doesn’t change my convictions. Nor will it keep me from sharing what I feel or think about when I read the book!
I mentioned that I tried to find information of that type.
I never found any research to show what Theodore Seuss Geisel believed about abortion. I wouldn’t mind you linking to where you found your information..I really did look to see if I could find what stand he would take on the issue. I know his widow is not pro-life. But really, that wasn’t the point of this post.
November 6th, 2006 at 11:40 pm
The good doctor may not have in fact been Pro-life, but Horton certainly is. I buy a copy of the book for every young child I know and used to get the video tape as well. Now evidently the publisher has combined it with the Grinch Who Stole Christmas on a DVD. (I guess there is a “Who” theme.) My thinking is that if I get the kids programmed that ” A person is a person, no matter how small!” they may become pro-lifers even if their parents are on the wrong side of the issue.
By the way Horton has been used in pro-life circles since at least the mid eighties. If Seuss was a pro-abort this simply shows God can use anyone to do good even if they do not mean to do good. Thanks be to God!
December 25th, 2006 at 9:37 pm
I never knew that anybody else saw the connection between Horton and abortion, but there it is! I’m a Sophomore in High School and I recently gave a pro-life speech to my Comm. Studies class and I started it by reading a few pages of Horton Hears a Who. It was a amazing the reaction! I think that everyone feels a strong and sentimental connection to Dr. Seuss, and pointing out the meaning of his words really gets to people! Most people that I talk to in my High School said that they were pro-choice, but after hearing Dr. Seuss (and some very scary facts about the real dangers of abortions) 80% of my Comm. Studies class said that they had changed their minds about “choice” and were now pro-life. I think that Horton Hears a Who has a very powerful message and that it should be made clear to everyone. I especially like the line that says “Please don’t harm all my little folks, who
Have as much right to live as us bigger folk do!”
January 22nd, 2007 at 3:39 pm
I couldn’t remember ever reading Horton Hears a Who and I just saw Seussical the Musical (community theater production) and was truly amazed by the pro-life message in it. I knew Seuss had tackled other serious issues, but I never knew he commented on abortion. I wanted to see if this really came from Seuss or was created by the playwright so I read the book and found that it was definitely Seuss. You know what else is surprising? The book was published way back in 1954– before Roe vs. Wade even! Was he commenting on the proliferation of illegal abortions? Did this issue touch his life personally in some way? I’ve got some interesting research to do on the topic. Here’s the other thing– my husband saw the musical with me and he’s an intelligent guy and he says he didn’t see a pro-life message in it at all! He thinks I imagined it because I’ve been hearing about abortion so much recently (turns out that’s because it was just Sanctity of Life Sunday).
February 20th, 2007 at 8:26 am
It really doesn’t matter what Geisel intended for this book. Also since Abortion was not prevalent and illegal at the time he wrote this, it is highly unlikely that he was writing about it. God, however, is the author of all inspiration and can use anyone even an donkey to say what He wants to, and it is just like God to use a children’s book to reach a lost generation.
March 23rd, 2007 at 8:07 am
The other day I saw a bumper sticker which read, “A person is a person, no matter how small.” along with a picture of an unborn baby. Does anyone have any idea where I can find one?
I think that this simple bumper sticker does a better job tugging at the heart strings of Pro-choice activists than any other.
October 14th, 2007 at 9:01 am
You do realise that, when Theodor Geisel was alive, he sued a pro-life group over using the phrase “A person’s a person, no matter how small”?
He was writing books, not indoctrinating children.
October 14th, 2007 at 11:37 am
Well Nicole, if you had read the comment thread (see comments #16 and #17), you would realize that this has already been discussed. Frankly, I care not whether Dr. Seuss is pro-life or pro-choice. That was not the point of this post. This book has a pro-life message. I plan to use it, and it’s message, to hopefully save children’s lives. Maybe trying to save babies is indoctrination…I really could care less.
February 22nd, 2008 at 3:12 pm
the butter battle book is also a good one to start discussion on war, i have used it in my classes before and now plan to use horton too.
March 17th, 2008 at 6:47 am
I just saw the movie yesterday and it was INCREDIBLE!!! I don’t know if they were capitalizing on the fact that pro-lifers are reading this book and adapting a pro-life message but the message resonated throughout the movie. It is also interesting to note that a member of Lou Engel’s (a radical pro-life and prayer activist) staff had a dream; and in that dream the person found in the attic a series of books that the lord said would be important for the future. One of the cheif books that was found in the dream was Horton Hears a Who. This original post was in 2006 and they had the dream in 2007!!! While I don’t think that Dr. Seuss intended for the book to be pro-live God can use anything for his glory. Come one and come all let us run and not fall. A person’s a person no matter how small!!!!!!!
March 17th, 2008 at 6:53 am
One more thought. For those that are under the impression that the only way one can use a work as someone intended them to should take a look at Jeremiah 27:6. He called Nebuchadnezzar, the king that would capture the Israelites and keep them in captivity for generations his SERVANT! God will use any thing or any one at any time to fulfill his will.
March 17th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
Amen, Gerry, I totally agree. And I agree with Bethany. It doesn’t matter what Dr. Seuss intent was, this book definitely connects with the pro-life message. I have always love this book and am going to read and re-read it to my kids and show them the connection. I have 6 kids, 4 of them teens, it would be cool if they could use this book and movie as a jump start to great conversation with their friends about abortion and the viability of a baby from day 1.
March 23rd, 2008 at 1:02 am
I kind of think it really DOES matter that Dr. Suess did not write the book as “pro-life.” That means that you are reading into it things that aren’t there.
Using the phrase in the “pro-life” movement begs the question. If a person IS a person, then OF COURSE it does not matter how big or little they are.
Those who are “pro-choice” obviously do not view the embryo or fetus as a person. But I don’t think size has much to do with it. Usually it is related to a lack of consciousness in the early fetus, or lack of brain waves in the embryo etc.
So the phrase is actually moot and a tautology. It isn’t an argument and it doesn’t prove anything.
I think the “pro-life” movement is strong enought to not rely on a phrase that (1) did not have abortion as its intent and (2) does not really provide an argument against abortion. What is needed is an argument that an embryo or a fetus IS a person. This isn’t provided by the phrase.
March 26th, 2008 at 10:18 pm
Well Betty, I’m certainly not trying to use this book/phrase to convince a group of overt, liberal, pro-abortion feminazis that they should consider the fetus as a person. I agree there are better ways to attempt to do that. But, to use this piece of literature, to introduce to children that a fetus should be considered a person, and that they are people who need advocates to fight for them, is completely appropriate.
I still haven’t seen any information that claims Dr. Seuss himself was pro-abortion. There may be information out there, but I haven’t found it. Nor has anyone backed up that claim with proof. I have found where his widow was pro-abortion, and it may very well be true that Dr. Seuss was. I just don’t know. Your argument, however, doesn’t convince me that I should abandon my use of this book in educating children about life inside the womb.
I for one am not going to stop using what I hear and see in that story to tell people what I believe about abortion because it might not have been what Dr. Seuss would have approved of. Most of the people I am working with, and trying to get to see my viewpoint, are children. I’m a teacher on many fronts. At home, to six kids. As a schoolteacher. As a Sunday School teacher. As a GA leader.
You say:
The phrase A person’s a person no matter how small, is a tautology. But it’s a tautology that the liberal left is trying to redefine. They are making claims that a person is a person unless they are too small, unless they are not developed enough, unless they are in the wrong environment (the womb), unless they are too dependent. They are redefining reality as they see it, or as they want it to be. The liberal, pro-abortion movement has set the arbitrary line at birth.
See this article from Frontline Ministries
(Note:counterarguments for this idea can be found in the article.)
The kangaroos in the book Horton Hears a Who made claims that the “Whos” couldn’t exist because of their size, because of their location, because of their dependence…
I think the pro-life movement is strong enough not to rely on this phrase as well. I get the impression you think this post, and it’s pro-life comments are wanting to use this as our only argument against abortion. It’s merely one tool. You seem to be saying that everything depends on this one argument (that a person is a person no matter how small) and that since it’s not a perfect argument it should not be used. I however, think that the parallels between abortion, and the story of this book, are quite sufficient due to the tie-ins to the SLED principles size, environment and degree of dependency. It’s a great conversation starter.
April 6th, 2008 at 2:19 am
According to Dr. Seuss’ biographer, he threatened to sue a pro life organization for using this phrase on their stationary. The book is NOT pro life. And you certainly weren’t the first one to think it was!
June 11th, 2009 at 9:23 am
The book is very pro-life, whether or not the author intended it that way.
I think it has something to say about the workings of God in our soul, and that sometimes we know what is true even when we will otherwise work against it. A unconscious vs conscious thing.
April 15th, 2010 at 7:33 pm
So…I’ve pretty much not touched this site in a year. I haven’t commented on this post in twice that long.
I wrote this post more than four years ago. I still get comments on it. 
My last few haven’t made it out of comment moderation, I am afraid.
I welcome all comments that are reasonable. If you don’t agree with me, fine. I can handle that. You are welcome to have your say. I may or may not reply back, mostly since I have other things that take up my time besides this ol’ blog these days.
If you just feel like shouting obscenities, feel free…it may make you feel better. I do have comment moderation, so really, you are wasting your time. Any profane comments, or derogatory comments will be deleted and marked as spam.
Have a nice day.
April 20th, 2010 at 7:30 am
You made some good points there. I did a search on the topic and found most people will agree with your blog.
April 22nd, 2010 at 9:32 pm
My friend referred me to your blog, so I thought I’d come have a read. Very interesting material, will be back for more!
May 2nd, 2010 at 2:10 pm
wow. . . strange. I’ve always totally seen this book as pro-choice, because it’s so affirming of human dignity and our rights to follow through with the choices that we make, while showing a mother who isn’t meant to be a mother and shouldn’t be. . . guess it just depends on what your point of view is to start with.
May 2nd, 2010 at 2:47 pm
Hex, I would agree that our worldviews do color how we see everything, including this book.
You are the FIRST person who has pointed out that viewpoint (on this thread). Interesting.
I find it interesting that the character you see as a “mother who isn’t meant to be a mother and shouldn’t be” is the one more than happy to end life because she doesn’t understand it as life.
Anyway, I’m pretty sure I won’t change your mind through this post (and that wasn’t my intent anyway ). Thanks for stopping by.
June 26th, 2010 at 6:43 pm
my very first dr. suess book was “The Foot Book” and i heard that story at the age of 3 months. i memorized the book at age 2 1/2 and my mom says i used to read it backwards too. and i would recite it as she read it quietly but i literally had it word for word.
i enjoy every dr suess book i have ever read… remember “Are you my mother”??? <3
August 1st, 2010 at 4:49 am
I am a teachers aid and I will never be able to read Horton without thinking about the hidden messages. I wish I never found your site
August 1st, 2010 at 11:11 pm
Well Laraine, I’m glad you stopped by. Maybe you won’t enjoy the book any longer (I LOVE it still!) but maybe you have something to think about.