Horton Hears a Who Day

On the fifteenth of May, in the Jungle of Nool,
In the heat of the day, in the cool of the pool,
He was splashing... enjoying the jungle's great joys...
When Horton the elephant heard a small noise.

After a few months of searching, I finally found a copy of Horton Hears a Who. I'd been meaning to read this to R ever since the march in January. As you recall, I wanted her to understand that the more people who stand up to be heard, the more likely those in power will be persuaded to represent us.

R is very keen on the book, and has wanted to be read it every day since getting it. She pointed out to me that the book begins on 15 May. That's tomorrow. So I am going to dedicate Horton Hears a Who Day 2017 to getting out the vote for the upcoming British election.

One of the two most important things to take away from this book is that everyone has to take part in order to make a difference. It's only when all our voices are added together that we can finally be heard. I'm very afraid that with some many high-stakes elections recently, the British public are going to sit this one out. Rather than the usual voting doesn't make a difference it seems we've gone down a few notches to voting can only ever make things worse. Yes, the opposition may not be perfect, and might have done things you find personally questionable, but they're not actively trying to kill you or destroy your livelihood. Getting out to vote is literally the only way to possibly stop the Tories and the madness of austerity and other policies designed specifically to hurt.

That brings me to the other take-away from the book: A person's a person, no matter how small. Not only is everyone worthy of basic human respect, but it is our responsibility to care of those people who cannot manage it themselves.

On a final note, as my daughter pointed out, one of the things she likes the most about the book is that, despite all the trouble the kangaroo caused, when she finally heard the Whos and understood the trouble she caused them, she turned around her thinking and decided to protect them. And Horton didn't resent her for what she'd done – he was happy to accept her help. It's not too late to turn around and do the right thing.

8 June is pretty much our Boiled in Beezle-Nut Oil Day. I'm confident the people of this country want the right thing. It's just a question of getting everyone out and to the polls so we can actually be heard. So, if you haven't yet registered, then do so. If you can help anyone else to register, especially young people who've never voted before, then help them. If voting on the day is going to difficult then vote by post. Get out, get your friends out, get your neighbours out, get your relatives out, and get our voices heard.