I took my kids to see Horton at the local drive-in recently. Horton is a great movie, and just like the book, it is undeniably pro-life – you'd have to do some serious mental gymnastics to deny the pro-life message of this film, "A Person's a Person, no matter how small" (it's certainly possible though, with these warped and broken moderns we live amongst – a teacher at my wife's "Catholic" High School managed to do just that immediately following a showing of The Silent Scream). As many of you are no doubt already aware, Theodore Geisel was opposed to the use of Horton (the book) by the pro-life cause. His evil crone widow, a supporter of baby-murderer strong opponent of life, has been extremely against such association.
How is it, then, that a such a book by such a man could be so pro-life? That such a movie, made by people who are savagely antagonistic to the pro-life cause could have such a clear pro-life message? It seems incredulous, until we remember one of the reasons we are pro-life: every man has an immortal soul, created by Almighty God. Every man is God's creature. Every man, whether he obeys the will of God or rejects it, unknowingly, or even knowingly, is part of God's plan (and not just in the “Scourge of God” kind of way). It is a great mystery that, even in their rejection of Him and His precepts, He brings good of their evil. Sure, most of the people that go to see Horton will simply be entertained and will continue in obstinate sin and go to hell, but a few, a very few, perhaps some of the children, the handful whose innocence has not been utterly defiled by the modern world (with the eager help of their sick parents), will be touched by the message and take it to heart. And they are the future, because, once again: killing your own babies = bad long-term demographic strategy.
But do we really believe these people are truly able to flout God's plan? Of course not. They aren't fooling anyone. Both the kids I brought, my five-year-old and my four-year-old easily grasped that "A person's a person, no matter how small" applies to babies when they are in their mommys' tummies and too small to see. Even if this movie changes no one's mind, it will be used by us and by a vast number of pro-life parents to reinforce (oh, that's right, I should have said brainwash, since it's not a liberal agenda we're pushing on our kids) the pro-life message and give them an even better chance of resisting the lies the world throws at them.
So it comes down to this: if you can't fool a four-year-old, then I'm sorry (not!), but you made a pro-life movie! And, even more importantly, every man is a tool in the hand of God, and to rail against it makes even less sense than making a fuss about green eggs and ham.
Posted on the Vigil of Pentecost, a.D. MMVIII
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