America Hears a Who: Lessons from Horton the Elephant

I hope today’s post will be like a trumpet blasting in your ears! I pray it will inspire and invigorate you during these uncertain times.

I never thought I’d be blogging about a Dr. Seuss book of all things, yet here I go. I am certain it’s a right now word for these times. It may even inspire you to get the book if you don’t have it!

Before I tell you the name of the book, let me explain how I decided to read it and ponder the ideas within.

THE IDEA

The other day I was walking with my friend Christine and we were chatting as we normally do. The big topic of conversation was the election. We were both discussing the corruption involved and how the Media and the players of One World Government are trying to steal the election from President Trump. As we were chatting, I brought up a Read-a-Thon I had participated in the day before with my friend Karen. This Read-A-Thon involved different people reading the Bible out loud every hour of the day. As a reader, you sign up for which hour you want to read. The goal is to keep the reading going so that someone, or several people are reading the Bible aloud each hour for 24 hours a day.

With the Read-A-Thon, there is no way to know which chapter or section of the Bible you will get until it’s your turn. When it’s your hour to read, you call the Read-A-Thon phone line and then you will find out what chapter/section you will get.

I explained to my friend Christine that I was excited about the chapters that my friend Karen and I read for our hour during the Read-A-Thon. Our reading began at Joshua 9 and ended at Joshua 19. What I loved about these chapters is that they describe the land allotments given to the Israelites by God. Not only this, they describe the battles between the Israelites and their enemies which occurred when they went in to take the land that was rightfully theirs. The struggles were fierce, but God was very clear. They would be victorious as seen in the verse below.

“The Lord said to Joshua, ‘Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you.’” Joshua 10:8

The verses that really stood out to my friend Karen and I were from Joshua 10:12-14

“On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel:

‘Sun, stand still over Gibeon,
 and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.’
 So the sun stood still,
 and the moon stopped,
 till the nation avenged itself on its enemies,

as it is written in the Book of Jashar.

The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day.  There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a human being. Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel!”

Wow! My friend Karen and I were amazed because these verses said THE LORD MADE THE SUN STAND STILL! Not only that, my friend Karen pointed out, the verse says, “there has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a human being!”

As you continue reading, these other verses jump out:

“All these kings and their lands Joshua conquered in one campaign, because the Lord, the God of Israel, fought for Israel,” Joshua 10:42.

“The Lord said to Joshua, ‘Do not be afraid of them, because by this time tomorrow I will hand all of them, slain, over to Israel,'” Joshua 11:6.

 “For it was the Lord himself who hardened their hearts to wage war against Israel, so that he might destroy them totally,” Joshua 11:20

I was so energized because these verses say the Lord fought for Israel! Also time was given to defeat the enemies of Israel.

Let me ask you something? Do you feel like enemies are trying to take our land in America?

When I say take the land, I mean taking our foundation, our freedom and our way of life. Our land was founded on the principles of God. Enemies want to destroy this and take the land God rightfully gave us.

Joshua and the Israelites were a people set apart by God to go in and take possession of the land they inherited. America, in comparison, was given this land through divine intervention. We began as a nation of Christians who founded colonies and settled the land. We were blessed and grew as a nation that was built on the foundation of THE ROCK- Jesus. By the way, did you know the name JOSHUA comes from the Hebrew name for Jesus, which is Yeshua!!!!! It’s the same name and both names mean salvation.

With these amazing thoughts in mind, I explained all of this to my friend Christine and reiterated the part about God making the sun stand still in the book of Joshua.

This is when Christine emphatically said, “That reminds me of a book by Dr. Seuss called Horton Hears a Who.”

“Horton hears a what?” I remarked.

“Horton Hears a Who,” Christine repeated.

“I’ve never heard of it,” I answered.

“Well, it’s about an elephant named Horton who tries to save this little community living on a speck of dust. But the big takeaway is that there is an eleventh hour moment that happens at the end of the story.”

“What do you mean an eleventh hour moment?”

“At the last moment the whole town is saved, as well as Horton the elephant,” Christine replied.

This got the wheels in my mind turning.

Christine explained a few more things about the book and then said, “Who knows? Maybe there will be an eleventh hour “save” that happens for President Trump? Or maybe it’s an eleventh hour “save” for our country?”

“Well, don’t elephants trumpet with their trunks? Get it? Trump? Trumpet?” I joked.

We both laughed, but at that point, I knew I had to get the book.

I ordered the book, but in the meantime, I watched a read-a-loud of the book on You Tube. When I listened to the entire story, my mouth dropped open. Certainly, there was a right now word for our nation- actually there were MANY WORDS for our nation.

I’m going to summarize the book and let you decide. I will also give you my take on the story as it relates to America, as well as a few of the things my friends noticed. Again, these are my reflections and certainly not the reflections or opinions of Dr. Seuss.

Horton Hears a Who

Horton Hears a Who is the story of a kind, curious elephant named Horton. One day Horton happens upon a small speck of dust as he’s cooling off in the water. He hears a faint sound coming from the speck of dust. Even though the speck of dust is tiny and he can’t see anything on it, Horton decides there must be microscopic people living within it. Immediately, he decides he will protect the speck of dust, as well as the tiny people who must live there. So, he goes about finding a safe place for the speck of dust.

Horton emphatically says, “A person’s a person no matter how small.” Even if he can’t see the people, he knows they are there. Even though they’re small he still wants to help them.

As Horton went about the business of finding a safe place, he encounters a kangaroo. The kangaroo mocks Horton and denies there’s anything on the speck of dust. She says “Why that speck is as small as the head of a pin. A person on that? Why there never has been.”

Then the kangaroo laughs at Horton and tries to splash the speck of dust. Horton becomes all the more determined to save this little speck of dust because he knows he must protect the community living inside it.

The mockery does not stop. Many others come along and make fun of Horton. Nonetheless, he protects the speck of dust with all his might.

Horton is met with great thanks from the community living on the speck of dust. The Mayor tells Horton he is saving their homes, churches, stores and way of life. Horton learns the community is called Whoville, and the town is overwhelmed at the lengths Horton will go to in order to protect their land and people.

Horton responds, “A person’s a person no matter how small.”

The mocking continued from there. Three monkeys known as the Wickersham brothers accost Horton and say, “This elephant’s talking to Whos who are not. There aren’t any Whos…. and they don’t have a Mayor. And we’re going to stop this nonsense so there!”

The Wickersham brothers snatch the speck of dust and give it to an eagle who grabs it in swift flight. “Will you kindly get rid of this thing?” the monkeys yell.

Horton follows the eagle and begs, “Don’t harm all my little folks, who have as much right to live as us bigger folks do!”

The eagle ignored Horton’s pleas and flew off to a field filled with thousands of clovers. He dropped the speck of dust into the clover field and it hit with a thud.

Horton searches frantically through the field and it takes hours and hours of sifting through clovers. But finally he finds the speck of dust in the clover field. He calls out to the people of Whoville and the mayor answers back:

“We really had trouble, much more than our share, when that black bottomed birdie let go and we dropped, we landed so hard that our clocks have all stopped! Our teapots are broken, our rocking chairs smashed, and our bicycle tires blew up when we crashed, so Horton please…..will you stick by us Whos while we’re making repairs?”

Horton answers by saying he will stick by Whoville through thick and thin.

Suddenly a giant mob of animals comes on the scene. They threaten to throw Horton into a cage and do away with the speck of dust once and for all. They threaten to boil the little speck of dust in Beezle-Nut oil!

Horrified, Horton pleads for the lives of the tiny people of Whoville, but the mob will not listen. So Horton tells the Mayor of Whoville he must do something to make the mob realize there are actual people living on the speck of dust. He says, “Make every Who holler! Make every Who shout! Make every Who scream! If you don’t, every Who is going to end up in a Beezle- Nut stew!”

So the people of Whoville yelled and screamed as loud as they could. Unfortunately the mob could not hear. In a rage, they grabbed Horton and tried to put him in a cage. Their next target was the speck of dust.

They mauled and beat Horton as they tried to drag him into the cage. He desperately called out to the town of Whoville and said, “Don’t give up, I believe in you all, a person’s a person no matter how small. And you very small persons will not have to die if you make yourselves heard, so come on now and TRY!”

So they tried again, but this time everyone beat on drums, played instruments and made a loud ruckus. But to no avail. The mob still could not hear.

That is until…………….. the mayor found just one tiny Who that hadn’t joined in with the others. The Mayor pleaded with the small Who by saying:

“This,”cried the Mayor, “is your town’s darkest hour!

The time for all Whos who have blood that is red,

To come to the aid of their country!” he said.

“We’ve GOT to make noises in greater amounts!

So, open your mouth lad! For every voice counts!”

This stirred up that tiny Who and he cleared his throat and yelled, “YOPP!”

And guess what? That one extra YOPP did the trick. Suddenly the mob could hear the voices!

In that one moment everything changed. The mob went from wanting to destroy the speck of dust to wanting to preserve and protect it.

Horton says, “They’ve proved they are persons, no matter how small, and their whole world was saved by the smallest of all.”

And the book ends with the mob deciding to protect even the smallest of persons, as well as their small community.

But none of this would have happened if Horton didn’t listen to that STILL SMALL VOICE.

WILL AMERICA HEAR HORTON?

Well America….what do you think? Did this speak to you? It sure spoke to me in so many ways.

First of all, we see that Horton listened to that still small voice. Those of us who are Christians know that voice as the Holy Spirit. This is the voice that nudges us to speak and live the truth, and to follow Jesus.

We also see that Horton wanted to protect this tiny community. The mob, however, just mocked and made fun of him. They had no interest in helping because they couldn’t hear the voices of the people of Whoville.

Doesn’t this remind you of what’s going on in America right now? There are thousands and thousands of people who cannot hear the Holy Sprit and they have become a MOB who is trying to take down America. They can’t hear the voices of Patriots who are trying to remind them our nation was founded by God. They cannot hear the voices telling them to repent. The mob wants to boil our nation in Beezel-Nut oil!

But there are elephants out there trumpeting the good news. They pray for their President, whose name is TRUMP. Like Horton, these elephants preach a message that is crucial! It’s the message that WE CANNOT KILL THE UNBORN. WE CANNOT KILL THE SMALLEST OF ALL.

Horton says, “A person’s a person no matter how small!” Doesn’t this remind you of the smallest of all? Our unborn babies!

But there are many Americans who believe unborn babies are not people. They consider them a cluster of cells. They claim they are insignificant. Like the kangaroos in this story, they claim they never even existed!

People are screaming and trying to get their attention. But like the MOB, they cannot hear. They mock and taunt and demand to get their way. All the while the elephants like Horton are trumpeting the truth that THEY ARE PEOPLE! A PERSON’S A PERSON NO MATTER HOW SMALL!

At one point in the story the whole town gets dropped in a field, causing their clocks to stop. It’s as if time stands still. They have reached a breaking point. All could be lost if something isn’t done!

America’s clock seems to have stopped hasn’t it? We’re at a standstill, waiting for the verdict. Who will be President? Will the election fraud be revealed and justice served? How will the MOB react?

Horton reminds the tiny nation of Whoville that he needs all their voices. Their mayor tells them as well. The mayor says THIS IS THEIR DARKEST HOUR. He says everyone needs to come to the aid of their country! It reminds me of Winston Churchill who took on Hitler during World War 2. He told England they must band together and fight the darkness!

And isn’t this true? Don’t we need every voice right now????? I know some people are scared, but what’s the consequence for staying silent? It’s BEEZLE-NUT OIL!!!!!!

In the end, it was the smallest voice that made all the difference. This little guy probably thought he couldn’t help. After all, he was so tiny!

But, if you read the Bible, you know God works his best miracles with small things.

Don’t use the excuse that your voice isn’t important, or your voice is too small. The Holy Spirit has the force of a hurricane- even in the smallest of Christians. It has the power to tear down walls and soften hearts.

We need everyone and we need you now!

Truth be told, I don’t know how all this will turn out. But I do know this!-GOD CAN MAKE CLOCKS STOP AND HE CAN MAKE THE SUN STAND STILL.

All he needs is people who are wholehearted and willing to obey.

“The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly,” Joshua 14:9.

When you have a nation who wholeheartedly loves and follows the Lord, you will have victory. The Lord will drive out the MOB and all the enemies that want to boil the nation in Beezle-Nut Oil.

 “Now then, just as the Lord promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the wilderness. So here I am today, eighty-five years old!  I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, with the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said,” Joshua 14:10.

There is a lot at stake with the outcome of the election. Just recently the media (the MOB) has announced Joe Biden plans to undo Trump’s Pro-Life executive orders. Check out this article from Live Action.

This is so sad and evil!

But like Horton, who endured the harassment of the MOB in order to protect the tiny persons of Whoville, we will continue to fight for the unborn! We will fight for the sanctity and purity of marriage. We will fight for the nation of Israel. We will fight for free speech and freedom of religion.

Because after all, if we forget WHO we are, we will lose WHO we are. And WHO are the WHOS if they don’t know WHO they are????? And truly if we forget who we are, that’s how we become insignificant. That’s how we get dropped in a clover field and become lost forever!

God built us into a great nation for a reason and it wasn’t so we can give up and let the MOB take over. Granted, we should still witness to the MOB. We should still show love. Because you never know- like the MOB in the story, there are many that may change their minds. There are many that will finally hear the voice.

In this book, there is a last minute save! It comes at the eleventh hour! So who knows? We may just see that eleventh hour save in our nation. Like I said, I don’t know exactly how it will turn out, but I’m willing to fight past the eleventh hour. I will fight with the weapons Jesus gives me- prayer, the Word and a voice that boldly speaks the truth in love. I don’t know what else the Lord may call me to do, but whatever it is I’m ready to act.

Do you want to fight for your nation? I hope so! The best way to begin is to fight the battle spiritually! Jesus is your best ally! Also, you need to raise up your voice and be heard above all the clamor of the enemy. After all, this is the land God gave us. This is our Whoville.

If for some reason, our nation is not spared, we still know there’s an eleventh hour save coming! It’s called the Rapture of the Church. We will be caught up with the Lord Jesus and taken to heaven before the Tribulation breaks out on earth.

We all know the KING is coming back soon. As a nation formed by God we should be getting people ready. We don’t stand down. We stand up! And we shout the loudest we’ve ever shouted until everyone can hear!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you to Karen and Christine for helping me catch all the connections in this book! And thank you Lisa for loaning me the movie!!! And thank you to Karen, who got me involved in the Read A Thon!

Also, I can’t help but refer to my website name- 67 Owls when I say, “Whooooo Whooooo America……listen to the Whos!

By the way, have you ever seen an elephant trumpeting? Here’s a video to watch. Here’s one more video!

Keep listening to that still small voice America! It may just lead to an eleventh hour save…………

Opinions and reflections in this post are those of the author: Angela Rodriguez- they are not the opinions or reflections of Dr. Seuss