I love to read, and I love to write. I owe that in good measure to Dr. Seuss, and I suspect many others do as well. Sadly, in the hyper-contentious state of our civil discourse these days, nothing is sacred, nothing is immune from attack or hijack for political purposes. We all know that no one is perfect, that none are free of fault. Most of us would hope to be judged on the totality of our lives and the net positive (or otherwise) impact we have had on the world and those around us, and the legacies we leave behind. With that in mind, I was moved to pen the following response to the recent controversy surrounding a gift of Dr. Seuss books to various libraries around the country. I hope that the good doctor will forgive my poor imitation of his iconic writing style, and see it simply as the sincere form of flattery I intend it to be.
Every child in the country likes “Doc Seuss” a lot … But a PC librarian in Cambridge does NOT!
She turned down some gift books, all written by Seuss. She said they were “racist,” rejected their use.
Now how could that be, thinking Doc Seuss a racist? What in all of his books could provide such a basis?
I looked through his books (turns out we have a lot). I searched through the pictures, reviewed all the plots
And nothing, no nothing did I chance to see that might offend anyone, except Ms. PC.
Could it be that the reason the books she did dump was that they came from someone whose last name was Trump?
What a sad situation: why is it so critical to view every action, each gesture, political?
How did a nation we used to call great become so infected with anger and hate?
We attack institutions we used to admire, drag people we don’t like through mud and through mire.
Assume bad intentions, call each other names like liar and racist, just fanning the flames.
We know in our hearts that this madness must end. What message to children does all of it send?
After all, we’re the adults, the ones who should know:
If we all come together, Oh, the places we’ll go!
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