Excerpt From "Horton Hears A Who"

First thing this morning my parent's heard that the appellate court has made their decision. They uphold the judgment of the lower court. The prosecution got free passes on all the outright fraud they committed during the trial, and my parent's are being railroaded for conspiracy. Irony at it's finest.

But...

Due to my preoccupied state, I allowed the children to watch "Horton Hears A Who" this morning. Sometimes encouragement comes from the oddest places. :)

The movie begins:

Kangaroo (Our fear mongering government): "Horton! There is nothing on that speck!"

Horton (My parents): "But I heard..."

Kangaroo: "Did you? Really!? Oh myyyy! Then how come I don't hear anything?"

Horton: "Well---"

Kangaroo: [Huff] "If you can't see, hear or feel something it doesn't exist. And believing in tiny imaginary people is just not something we do or tolerate here in the Jungle of Nool."

Horton: "Really? 'Cause I bet if I tried, I could find somebody who'd believe what I was saying-"

Kangaroo: [Interrupting] "You will do nothing of the sort! You will not breathe a word of this lie to anyone else...especially the children. I do not want you poisoning their minds with this nonsense. Our community has standards, Horton. If you want to remain a part of it, I recommend you follow them. Have a nice day."

Horton: "All right then. I'll, uh, take that under advisement. Certainly appreciate your input." Later "I don't understand. I know I heard you. It was as plain as the nose on my face."

Narrator: "Now some people out there - I think I know who - may think they agree with that sour kangaroo. There can't really be people as small as a mite. Well, there can, and there are, because Horton was right!"

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The ending....

Vulture (Our prosecuting attorney): "Oh, you should have been seeing him! I really let elephant have it. I chase him. I torment him. I break him into million little elephant pieces. It was a thing of beauty really. My best work. Classic Vlad."

Kangaroo: "What is happening to the Jungle of Nool? There once was a time when people were people, and specks were specks. Well, I say if you can't see it, hear it or feel it, it doesn't exist. Our way of life is under attack. And who's leading that attack? HORTON!"

Horton's little friend (People who know my parents): "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Wait a minute! This is HORTON we're talking about. You all know him. He wouldn't hurt a fly--"

Kangaroo : "Shut up, Mouse. Are we going to let troublemakers like Horton poison the minds of our children? When Horton tells the children about world's beyond the jungle it makes them question authority! Which leads to defiance, which leads to anarchy! ARE WE GOING TO LET HIM GET AWAY WITH THIS?"

Everybody (The Sheeple): "NO! Let's go!"

Horton hears rumbling in the distance...

Everybody: "There he is! Get the speck! Let's rope him! Let's cage him!"

Horton: "NO!" turning to run away whimpering.

Kangaroo: "STOP!"

Horton to Everybody: "[Nervous, yet always kind] "Hey, fellas. Good to see ya--all at once. You look really great...as a horde."

Kangaroo: "Horton, Horton, Horton. Look at the mess you've created for yourself. All this hullabaloo over a silly little flower."

Horton: [Incredulously] "It's a speck!"

Kangaroo: "Right. I mean, it's silly, really...all this talk of roping you and caging you, and, well...[sinisterly] we don't need to go into the details. The point is, this angry mob, all-all the trouble you're in--it can all go away."

Horton: [Hopefully] "Really?"

Kangaroo: "Of course! All you have to do is admit to everyone that there are no little people living on that speck...that you were wrong, and I was right. You do that, and things can go right back to the way they were. But if you don't...[threateningly] you're going to have to pay the price."

Horton: [Looking at the cage waiting for him] "Heh. So I just have to say it isn't true? Hmmm. [Pretending to think about it, then with determination in his eyes] Go ahead--rope me, cage me. Do whatever you want, but there are people on this speck, and they have a mayor who has 96 daughters and one son named JoJo who all share a bathroom, whatever that is. And even though you can't hear or see them at all, a person's a person no matter how small." [Stated with conviction]

Kangaroo: [Sarcastically] "That was beautiful, Horton. ROPE HIM! CAGE HIM! BURN THAT SPECK IN A POT OF BOILING BEEZLENUT OIL! This will teach you not to make up stories about people on specks!"

All the threats don't amount to a thing because Horton knows that he's right. Even if the rest of the world thinks he's nuts, it is his DUTY to do the right thing. Regardless of the consequences.

God can handle the consequences.

And we all know how it ends. Good prevails, and they make it...at the very last second. Because one little boy believed in Horton and wasn't afraid to go against the crowd.

But, my favorite line of all is, "You did it! Dad, you're one of the greats!"

My mom and dad truly are.

And it proves once again that, God can use anything! :D