I’m here to acknowledge a regular guy.
Well, he really was famous, we all can see why.
He wrote in some pages, drew pictures in books
That we all loved to read in our little book nooks.
He shaped how we saw words and rhymes and the world.
Nothing really was real in those colorful swirls
And those fanciful pictures and unreal creatures,
But lessons were also alive in their features.
It’s a fact he was racist, at least for a bit,
But I’m here to proclaim something, maybe just sit
down and listen to me. This should be no surprise.
I mean really if you’d only open your eyes,
Then you just might be able to see that old Seuss,
How he grew and restructured his own mind anew.
He really made strides, really opened his eyes.
There are lessons to learn in the hows and the whys.
I’m here to declare, no we can’t cancel Seuss,
It’s unreasonable, spiteful, and unjust to boot.
And that boot on his face, it just may come for you,
When you’re cozied up there in what you believe true.
It’s a ruse. What you know gets thrown back in your face.
‘Cuz the masses don’t care to extend any grace.
Will your words be the latest to fall in their nets?
Will your right to speak out be so great an offense?
Who will be next? And just when will they stop?
No confession or sorrow can keep you aloft.
In fact they’ll take it as permission to drag you
Through mud they’ve created to tame and ashame you.
The powers that be lour down from the top,
Frowning down at your books. They’ll just ban the whole lot!
But think now on the books that were banned in the past
Or are even banned now, and I think that at last
You’ll remember the history hidden in books
Even with their politically incorrect nooks
And their sometimes bold thoughts and even their lies —
Tell me, how does it help to erase what’s inside?
And of course you don’t have to read books you don’t like
Or watch movies that you feel aren’t good for your eyes
Or your heart or your children, but that’s up to you.
Tell me what fatal wrong did our Seuss ever do?
Sure, I’d like a society free from derision,
Though it seems it’s okay when it’s their decision.
As for me, I’ll speak out; I won’t sit back and hide.
Up ’til now I’ve just kept it all quietly inside.
But the forces that be aren’t going away,
And I hope you’ll agree, I’ve a right to my say.
So do you! That’s the great thing of being alive
In our Western society — boy, we’ve made strides!
Well, we had, but our right to speak’s being oppressed,
As up is now down and the right is now left.
There’s a truth that is true, and while you can deny it,
Can anyone say that we’re better off for it?
Perhaps in this life if we turn to our Savior
We’ll learn what it looks like to love our neighbor.
For love without God is a poor imitation,
And I pray that His Spirit will move in our nations.
Yes, nations, I say; it’s not all about us.
For each person and country needs Him just as much,
to transform and bring justice, for joy and good works,
Without him there’s no meaning in all of this earth.
A relative truth doesn’t bring restoration;
Intellectual thought isn’t justification.
Nor is spiritualization more than a sensation,
A poor explanation for fleshly libation,
A surefire path to spiritual dehydration,
Frustration, stagnation, vexation, truncation —
Now take a deep breath, breathe in deep and decide,
How do all of these words make you feel deep inside?
Those feelings are yours, only you can control them,
Sometimes it might help to step back and observe them.
To think and to act is a process for sure
That we all take a lifetime of practice to learn.
Our offense doesn’t mean that we’re right; don’t submit.
Let your spirit be master and rule over it.
Inspired by Brett Weinstein’s poem “Let Loose the Seuss” and the related episode from 3/7/21 on the Dark Horse Podcast.