The Girl Who Silenced the World

**The video below is a poignant reminder of the importance of our Earth and the power of our voice..... if nothing else, please watch as this 12 year old addresses the United Nations on the state of the planet, having traveled 5,000 miles in 1992. Please share the link to this page, and her story.**

"Horton hears a Who," by Dr. Seuss, tells the story of Horton the Elephant, who, in the afternoon of May 15 while splashing in a pool located in the Jungle of Nool, hears a small speck of dust talking to him. Horton discovers that the speck of dust is actually a tiny planet, home to a microscopic community called Whoville, where the Whos reside.

Although Horton cannot see the Whos, his large ears enable him to hear them when no one else can. The Mayor, on behalf of Whoville, asks Horton to protect them from harm, which Horton happily agrees to do. Yet, in doing so he is ridiculed and reprimanded by the other animals in the jungle for believing in something that they are unable to see or hear.

"This entire jungle is a house of death!" proclaims Horton who tells the Whos that, lest they end up being boiled in "Beezelnut Oil", they need to make themselves heard to the other animals. The Whos finally accomplish this by ensuring that all members of their society play their part in creating lots of noise so they are heard by the jungle folks. But in the end it is a "very small shirker named JoJo" whose final addition to the volume creates enough lift for the jungle to hear the sound, thus reinforcing the moral of the story:  "And so, all ended well for both Horton and Who's, and for all in the jungle, even kangaroos. So let that be a lesson to one and to all; a person is a person, no matter how small"

Indeed, the story by Dr. Seuss of 'Horton Hears a Who'  is analogous to this 12-year old girl who "silenced the world" for six and one half minutes as she addressed the United Nations:

However akin to that small voice in Whoville, her 5,000 mile trek has a remarkably different twist from the victorious finale of the fairy-tale where "convinced of the Whos’ existence, Horton’s neighbors vow to help him protect the tiny community" of Whoville."

The loud voice of this tiny girl whose tale once mesmerized the United Nations in an attempt to save her planet, has once again become a whisper - reminding us of the venture of Horton where at one point he states,  "We must become invisible, travel silently, for there are forces that would seek to destroy us."


In the book, a dialogue purses where Horton argues, "I meant what I said, and I said what I meant...An elephant's faithful one hundred percent...That's my code, my motto."

If only we, as a planet, could elevate our philosophy to that of this Elephant, Horton, whose brain is scientifically the size of a peanut, then our potential is exponential.