Dr. Seuss for President

Part of the draw for us to come to Maryland was the wide array of arts in the DC area. Last night we attended our first art opening called "Seuss for President." It was a collection of renowned childrens books author, Dr. Seuss's political works. Few people know that many of Seuss's books are really sophisticated political commentary. (I didn't know, either.) But Horton Hears a Who is really a conceptualization of how democracy should be. Yertle the Turtle is a case against fascism, largely based on Hitler. The Lorax was really Seuss's case for environmental conservation.

Seuss also did 400 political cartoons, none of which have ever been viewed by the public until now. The first release (pictured below) is called "The Knotty Problem on Capital Hill: How to Raise Taxes without Losing a Single Vote."



It was the first time that many of the works have been on display publicly. Seuss told his now widow that he didn't want any of this work to become public until he died. Now that he has gone, we are the beneficiaries of his fantastic work.

What was really striking was how timeless the lessons in Seuss's political works were. Issues around saving the environment, war, and democracy are as highly contested when he penned them as they are now. It was also quite interesting to see how few people actually notice the political overtones in his work. Finally, it was also fun to take a picture with the Cat in the Hat as 27-year-olds.