We are All Equal and We All Deserve Respect

As a young man, Dr. Seuss was bullied over race and religion.  As an adult Dr. Seuss wanted to write a book that would send a message to children (and anyone else who read it) that all of us are equal.  The book he wrote is called The Sneetches.

The book Sneetches is about the starbelly Sneetches and the plain belly Sneetches. The Star Belly Sneetches were proud and walked right by the plain belly sneetches without saying a word to them, treating them as if they were inferior. One day, a scam artist named Sylvester McMonkey McBean came to town. He was planning on scamming the Sneetches out of their money with the “star belly on” and “star belly off” machine. He took the plain belly Sneetches and put them through the “star on” machine which placed stars on their bellies, making them just like the starbelly Sneetches.  Once the star belly Sneetches saw that the plain belly Sneetches had stars like them they were angry.  So Sylvester McMonkey McBean put them through his “star off” machine and took their stars off their bellies.  This of course made the newly stared Sneetches want to take their stars off to be like the other Sneetches, which made the newly non-stared belly Sneetches want to get their stars put back on again.  This kept going back and forth until all of the Sneetches had run out of money and no one could remember who was who anymore.  Suddenly the Sneetches started to respect everyone in town, whether they had a star on their belly or not. And the lesson was learned that all Sneetches were equal, regardless of their differences.

If you have not read the book I would highly recommend that you get a copy and read it. It sends such a powerful message and serves as a brilliant reminder that we are all created equally, regardless of our race or our religion and regardless of title or power or money or worldly status.  Everyone is equal and everyone deserves to be treated with respect.  Just as the Sneetches learned in the end, it takes everyone setting aside their differences and uniting as human beings, all equal, all deserving respect. It seems like such an obvious thing to do, yet even today in our world people have forgotten that simple lesson that a children’s book illustrated perfectly. Hopefully, together we can change that.

Have a wonderful day.

~Amy

3 Comments

  • Otto Flores says:

    Great reminder! I remember this book and agree it communicates a powerful message about equality. Love it, thank you for sharing.

  • Andrea says:

    That is my very favorite Dr. Seuss book. I hadn’t even heard of it until a few years ago – so maybe it’s not very popular? It should be!

  • Brendan says:

    each time i used to read smaller articles which as well clear their motive,
    and that is also happening with this piece of writing which I
    am reading at this place.

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