We Are Here

Photo by Adam Thomas on Unsplash

In Dr. Suess’s book Horton Hears a Who, an elephant named Horton hears something no one else can hear – a tiny voice speaking from a tiny city on a dust spec. Those who cannot hear it refuse to believe that the tiny people exist, despite Horton’s repeated insistence that “a person’s a person no matter how small.’  To keep from being destroyed, the tiny people in Whoville join together in shouting over and over, “WE ARE HERE, WE ARE HERE, WE ARE HERE!!”  It works, and Horton’s detractors finally hear and believe.

Last night at the Sterling Library board meeting, I heard a rousing chorus of “We are here!”  A board member had said that “we live in a conservative town,” and those who don’t identify with that statement came out to make sure the board and the town and the world know that there are people here of all different sorts.  The city manager had said, “An individual board member does not speak for the entire board.”  People were showing last night that the board member also does not speak for the town.

I was surprised at the number of faces in the room that I didn’t recognize.  This is a small town and it’s easy to feel like we all know each other. It was obvious last night that we don’t. We don’t all hang out in the same places, and when we do, we don’t talk about the subjects that were in last night’s statements – neurodivergence, sexual orientation, race, and religion. We’re more likely to hide our differences. Some of us were taught that hiding is how one survives in “polite society.”  Some of us have learned from experience that hiding is safer.  Some of us have learned that we have to hide to keep our jobs, our supporters, and “friends.”

The problem with hiding is that it makes us afraid of each other, and it makes us jump to conclusions, like thinking that everyone agrees or thinks the same or is the same. Of course we aren’t. 

In the first chapter of the book that’s become part of this controversy, The Flight of the Puffin, a creative middle school student sees a storeroom full of paint and a big, blank, white wall and decides that a colorful mural would be an improvement.  The principal doesn’t agree, but I do.  Color reflects life and all the variations of it that exist in this beautiful world.

I was surprised to find a strong police presence at last night’s meeting.  It said to me that those in power are afraid of the people.  I think they’re also afraid to be honest.  I hope that will change.  And I hope there will be public acknowledgment of the variety of opinions, suggestions, and requests that were made last night. 

The people weren’t shouting, but they were desperately hoping to be heard.  I heard them loud and clear.  This is not just a conservative town.  This is a town full of all kinds of people who aren’t going to keep hiding and who deserve to be acknowledged and accepted for who they are.

WE ARE HERE.