?We live in a world where spin doctors are what we used to call con artists, where the lines of
ethics, morality and faith are blurred, where religion is used as an excuse to kill our fellow man. I
yearn for a simpler credo of beliefs; those simple, but elegant morals espoused by a writer named
Theodore Geisel, known to millions as Dr. Seuss.
Dr. Seuss reduced human behavior to elementary terms: honesty, integrity, loyalty, redemption,
determination, conflict resolution, tolerance, etc. The fables he spun took place in an alien world
with weird creatures, strange settings and the most unlikely host of characters ever assembled,
yet there was never a doubt who he was speaking to. His homespun poetry and clever play on
words and their meanings proved humorous and entertaining, but all the time we were laughing,
there was a subtle message embedded to hopefully influence our treatment of others.
In Horton Hatches The Egg, we learn about trust, honor and loyalty through the following words:
“I meant what I said , and I said what I meant… An elephant’s faithful one hundred percent.
In How The Grinch stole Christmas!, we explored spirituality, tolerance and redemption. In
Green Eggs and Ham, we discovered determination, conflict resolution and openness to new
ideas. In The Cat in The Hat we experienced the sometimes negative results of not living our
beliefs. Dr. Seuss wrote forty-four books all of which contain similar themes and variations on
living the “Golden Rule”. There is something for everyone in the Dr. Seuss series and every story
can mean something new to every reader.
When the world begins to appear overwhelming and my life feels out of control, I take solace in
these words from the eminent doctor: “It’s a troublesome world. All the people who’re in it are
troubled with troubles almost every minute. Just tell yourself, Duckie, you’re really quite
lucky! Some people are much more… oh, ever so much more… oh, muchly much-much more
unlucky than you.” Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are?
My wife always says she believes in the world according to Disney, I believe in the world
according to Dr. Seuss.