« Road Condition Critical | Main | 12 Dead »
January 03, 2006
Dr. Seuss
Everyone knows who Dr. Seuss is (or was as the case may be). He wrote charming childrens books like the Cat in the Hat, the Lorax, Green Eggs and Ham, as well as many other books. His books were renowned for their silly rhymes, sillier illustrations, and an imbued message about taking care of our planet, doing as your mother says, and other issues pertenant to a child. What is little known about the man is that his career started as a political cartoonist. He wrote cartoons regarding the inequality of race in the 1940's, about the over taxation of the poor and the benefit of the rich, and most famously about oppositon to WWII and American isolationism preceeding the war.
In his book "Dr. Seuss Goes to War" Richard Minear displays a number of Seuss' cartoons from the WW2 era as well as explanations to the political happenings of the time. I think that any reader can find a relevance to what is depicted in those cartoons published 60 years ago to what is happening in America today. Despite the common belief that the second World War was widely accepted and lauded there was as much political pressure to withdraw from Europe and Japan peacefully as there is now to withdraw from Iraq. May saw the fight against Nazi Germany as a European battle and that we would do best to stay out of it all together, despite Germany's resolution to sink all American cargo vessles sailing into and out of European ports. It was also believed that through arbitration the Japanese conflict could be resolved. There was much debate as to whether or not Japan and Germany were holding talks as to how to divide up the world if they were victorious. Those opposed to the war insisted that there was no connection between Japan and Germany. We now know differently, of course, though the connection wasn't as powerful as some believed.
Dr. Seuss wrote about all aspects of the war and American life during the 1940's and 50's. He firmly believed in the war and it's efforts. He opposed American isolationism, racism (though his drawings of Japanese figures always looked the same, squint eyed, pig nosed, and a bit befuddled), anti semitism, and tax loopholes for the rich. Even after his political cartoon days were over and he was making childrens books the political message was clear for anyone who chose to look. The Cat in the Hat with his red and white striped hat was a parody of our Uncle Sam, the Lorax was a message on Environmentalism, the Bitter Butter Battle mirrored the Cold War, and Green Eggs and Ham was a message on racial tolerance. The man had a lot to say in his day, and his messages carry over time in their relevance.
Authors Note: I'm almost certain that this image has been edited from it's original format to make it more relevant to today's issues. The type written font above the smaller bed was my first clue. Just be sure, I'm not the one who changed it, I just posted it.
Posted by at January 3, 2006 09:02 AM