Remember the Sneeches

Someone once said that there are three kinds of people. There are people who talk about other people; there are people who talk about situations; and there are people who talk about principles. The problem is that there is little meaningful communication between the three groups. Those 'birds of a feather' really do flock together. When that happens, we have class distinction and social unrest of all kinds. Dr. Seuss' “Star-bellied Sneeches” is a good illustration of this phenomenon.

In his story there are three kinds of creatures: the sneeches with stars, the sneeches with no stars, and the entrepreneur. The sneeches with stars, believe that they are better than the sneeches with none, and as a result, they leave them out of all their parties. The sneeches with no stars believe that they are just as good as the other sneeches and could prove it if they were only given a chance. The entrepreneur knows that they are both vulnerable, so he sets up a business to both remove and implant stars on bellies. In the end, after the entrepreneur has fleeced them of all their money, the sneeches realize how foolish they have been and begin to try to understand one another and have meaningful relationships without regard to stars or the lack of them.

To dig a little deeper into the story, the sneeches with stars are most worried about people. They are concerned that they will have the 'wrong' sort of people at their gatherings, so they maintain the division of class distinction with appearance as the chief distinguishing quality. The sneeches with no stars are most concerned about getting a fair chance. They feel that if they had the right parents or circumstances they would be equal to the sneeches with stars. The entrepreneur on the other hand, knows the principles of successful business and uses them. He has no star, nor does he want one.

In today's world, we are not so neatly divided into easily classified groups, like sneeches. However, I think it is valuable to look at some of the parallels to our own lives. Right now, there is a world-wide culture that revolves around the “Stars” in Hollywood. To look, act, dress, eat and live like them is the focus of many lives, and unfortunately many children's lives as well. There is also a group of people who feel left out of that culture because of the lack of money or other opportunities. Then, there are those today who make it their business to sell that culture to those who want it, taking advantage of both groups and making a huge profit. Sound a little like sneeches?

Then there are people who talk about heroes, wave the flag and vote every year. There are those who have become cynical and do none of those things. And there are those who stand up for what they believe in and actually do something about it. The big question in my mind lately has been, “Where are we going and why are we in this hand-basket?” The businessman in our story has just about cleaned us out of all our sneech dough and I think it's time that a few of us sneeches started to wake up to the fact that there is something more going on here than just stars on bellies! Someone is walking away with the goods and it isn't us.

Do you think that ordinary sneeches are capable of intelligent thought? Do you think that their understanding could make a difference in the world in which they live? Do you think that if the sneeches got wise to the entrepreneur's game early enough that they could put a stop to the fleecing before it was too late. If so, then you are just the sort of person required to beat the entrepreneur at his own game. The ordinary sneeches were not smart enough to figure out what he was doing until ALL their money was gone. It was only then that their intelligence kicked in and they started to think. But if you are the same kind of person as the entrepreneur, then you can think and act on intelligent principles BEFORE it is too late.

May you be a sneech who thinks. And may you find others like yourself.