Who Cares? A Wish for 2026

 

 

 The unbelievable surrounds us . . . . 
The intricate weaving of scraps to make a bird nest,
The maze of tunnels in an ant kingdom,
And the thrumming beat of the hummingbird wings as it drinks from an open flower.

But perhaps the most astounding, the most miraculous, is when a human decides to stop and
Notice the lives of others,
Listen to their stories,
Step into their shoes,
And imagine their hardships.

You know those who do this.  
They are the ones who are often criticized for their bleeding hearts.
The weight they carry for others is heavy.

Horton from Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who! knows all about this.  As large as this pachyderm is, he hears the tiny sound of a voice on a speck of dust, a voice no one else hears.  Despite the cackles of the sour kangaroo and her babe, and despite the resistance of the Wickersham Brothers and the black-bottomed bird, Vlad Vlad-i-koff, he cares for the speck of dust and the people of Whoville.

In case you didn’t know, Dr. Seuss’ early work contains many racist stereotypes and contributed to American mistrust of Japanese-Americans during World War II.  However, his character Horton reveals that he, too, stopped and listened.  He, too, underwent a change of heart.  He, too, developed a willingness to hear the voices of those in Japan, to deal with the criticism of others, and to care.

It takes integrity to refuse to use our power and position, our large Horton size, to assert our desires—-but instead, use our position to protect those who may not “measure up” in our eyes.  

It takes courage to protect the powerless, the poor, those who are different from us.

It takes grace and mercy to see the humanity of others whose views and lifestyles don’t match ours.

It takes intentionality to look for those others, those citizens of Whoville, who believe their voices don’t matter, and encourage and enable them to speak.

* * * * * * * * * *

In 2026, I am hoping for a miracle—
For supervisors and bosses to listen to employees and care about their experiences,
For those in power to care about those little “specks of dust” and the people who inhabit them,
For us to look for those who need to be seen,
For us to hand a loud megaphone to those who need some help to be heard,
And for the voices of all of us in our own little Whoville to make a loud “YOPP!” 

May we, like Dr. Seuss, the sour kangaroo and babe, and the Wickersham Brothers evolve and look for specks of dust and their inhabitants.   May we listen to their stories and their voices.

May we care for every Who . . . .