Dr. Seuss

Dr. Seuss is the pen name of Theodor Seuss Geisel (March 2, 1904 – September 24, 1991). He was a famous American writer and cartoonist best known for his children's books.

Dr. Seuss's politics

From his work, it would appear that Dr. Seuss's political views were what 20th century Americans would call liberal. His early political cartoons show a passionate opposition to fascism, and he urged Americans to oppose it, both before and after the entry of the United States into World War II. Seuss's cartoons also called attention to the early stages of the Holocaust and denounced discrimination in America against black people and Jews. Seuss's harsh treatment of the Japanese and of Japanese Americans, mentioned above, has struck many readers as a strange moral blind spot in a generally idealistic man.

Related Topics:
20th century - Liberal - Fascism - The Holocaust - Black people - Jew

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Seuss moved to La Jolla, California in 1948, following his years living and working in Hollywood. A widely told story says that when he first went to register to vote in La Jolla, some Republican friends called him over to where they were registering voters, but Ted said, "You my friends are over there, but I am going over here ." Geisel had since been a lifelong Democrat.

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Seuss's children's books also express his commitment to social justice as he perceived it, notably in five of his books:

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• Horton Hears a Who (1954), Horton, an open-minded elephant, finds evidence of a world beyond our familiar one. Like Galileo Galilei or Giordano Bruno, the authorities want to punish Horton and destroy the evidence of his discovery. Horton maintains, however, that "A person's a person no matter how small." Gertrude McFuzz, who lives right next door, admires Horton for his uniqueness but fears to approach him due to her despised one feather tail. Seuss comes out strongly in favor of intellectual freedom.
• The Sneetches and Other Stories (1961) written around the birth of the American Civil Rights Movement, this tale of identity politics concerns a who exploits people who want to feel superior to others based on their ethnicity.
• The Lorax (1971), though told in full-tilt Seussian style, strikes many readers as fundamentally an environmentalist tract. It is the tale of a ruthless and greedy industrialist (the "Onceler") who so thoroughly destroys the local environment that he ultimately puts his own company out of business. The book is striking for being told from the viewpoint (generally bitter, self-hating, and remorseful) of the Onceler himself. In 1989, an effort was made by lumbering interests in Laytonville, California to have the book banned from local school libraries, on the grounds that it was unfair to the lumber industry.
• The Butter Battle Book (1984) written in Seuss's old age, is both a parody and denunciation of the nuclear arms race, emphasizing the reckless and self-destructive behavior of both sides.
• Seuss's personal values also are apparent in the much earlier How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1957), which can be taken (partly) as a polemic against materialism. The Grinch thinks he can steal Christmas from the Whos by stealing all the Christmas gifts and decorations, and attains a kind of enlightenment when the Whos prove him wrong.

Shortly before the end of the Watergate scandal, Geisel also converted one of his famous children's books into a bold polemic. "Richard M. Nixon, Will You Please Go Now!" was published in major newspapers through the column of his friend Art Buchwald. Nine days later, Nixon went.

Related Topics:
Watergate scandal - Richard M. Nixon, Will You Please Go Now! - Column - Art Buchwald

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