Lauren Appell: Dr. Seuss silenced – sobering lessons as cancel culture strikes beloved author
What do parents have to say about Dr. Seuss? We don’t know, because it appears we haven't been asked
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known in households across America as Dr. Seuss, just became the latest cancel culture casualty.
If you have kids chances are you have probably found yourself on more than one occasion dressing them up as a character from their favorite Dr. Seuss book and sending them to school to celebrate his birthday.
Dr. Seuss’ birthday coincides with Read Across America Day, which was by design when it was founded by the National Education Association more than 20 years ago.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}This year the author and cartoonist, who has sold more than 650 million books in at least 95 countries, posthumously received an unexpected birthday gift — he got blacklisted.
6 DR. SEUSS BOOKS TO STOP BEING PUBLISHED BECAUSE OF RACIST IMAGERY
Dr. Seuss Enterprises said it will stop publishing six of the author’s books due to racial and insensitive imagery.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The organization said they "listened and took feedback from our audiences including teachers, academics and specialists in the field as part of our review process. We then worked with a panel of experts, including educators, to review our catalog of titles."
We can’t let ourselves turn into a country that’s quick to blacklist everything and slow to communicate anything.
That’s funny, the one audience they fail to mention listening to is parents. Parents of all races, ethnicities and backgrounds. What do those parents have to say about the imagery from Dr. Seuss? We don’t know, because it appears none of us have been asked.
There are many rock star teachers, and my children have been fortunate enough to have some of them, but as a rule there is no educator or expert more in tune with your kids than you – their parent.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A parent might have said: "Change a word, soften an image, but banning entire books is a draconian and unnecessary overreaction."
While six books have been banned for now, Dr. Seuss Enterprises said it’s "committed to listening and learning and will continue to review our entire portfolio."
That’s code for stay tuned, we’re not done banning books.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}WHO IS DR. SEUSS AUTHOR THEODOR SEUSS GEISEL?
Listening and learning are always good things. I wish the men and women running Washington would do more listening and learning, and goodness knows I wish my children would do more listening and learning. But actual listening and learning leads to respectful dialogue, otherwise the result is cowering to the politically correct mob.
President Biden parted from past Presidents Obama and Trump by dropping Dr. Seuss from his "Read Across America Day" proclamation this week.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}When asked why Dr. Seuss was missing from the president’s proclamation, White House press secretary Jen Psaki wouldn’t answer the question, and this time she didn’t even bother to say she’d circle back.
We can’t let ourselves turn into a country that’s quick to blacklist everything and slow to communicate anything.
In 2017, then-Sen. Kamala Harris went on Twitter and wished Dr. Seuss a happy birthday and quoted him. So does this mean the cancel crowd will come after the vice president for not being woke enough? Should President Biden himself be canceled because he won’t say why he canceled Dr. Seuss from his proclamation? So. many. questions.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In President Obama’s proclamation, he said Dr. Seuss "used his incredible talent to instill in his most impressionable readers universal values we all hold dear." It’s not often I find common ground with President Obama, but on this he was absolutely right.
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Here are a few quotes from Dr. Seuss that speak to those universal values. Some of these I’ve even been known to put on shirts for my kids to celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you."
"Why fit in when you were born to stand out."
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not."
"A person's a person, no matter how small."
A book by Dr. Seuss is reportedly the first story one in four American children receive. That was true for my kids and that was also true for me. Productions inspired by his original stories have won three Academy Awards, three Emmy Awards, three Grammy Awards, and a Peabody Award.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}It’s no wonder, he made reading fun, instilled a curiosity and love for learning, and created some of our kids’ first childhood memories.
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We’re all uniquely created, it’s unreasonable to expect that we will all think the same. Nor should we. Our country cannot continue down this path of stamping into silent submission everyone with a dissenting viewpoint.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}When we continue to erase stories and silence voices, we can never hear what they have to say.