The Lorax, by Dr. Seuss, is a quite literal fable, carrying heavy lessons about industrialization and big business.  I’ve been reading this book to my boys for quite some time, but when I came back from the NIH VBAC conference, the book took on a whole new meaning to me.  Rather than just seeing the obvious reference to environmentalism, I now see the Lorax and the Once-ler as new characters relative to my life.

The Lorax is The Midwife – She speaks for The Mothers

The Once-ler is the Medical Industry – A Capitalist without much of a Conscience

And so it goes…

Once there was a land where women helped other women birth.  Midwives watched over The Mothers while they brought forth life in peace and spirituality.

Then The Once-ler came along and saw something he could capitalize on. He set up shop in The Lorax’s world, then quickly made a contraption and convinced folks they couldn’t live without it.  He built a Machine and told women they and their babies need it to survive.  The Machine was a hit, and the more Machines He built, the more The Women flocked to them.

The Once-ler built hospitals filled with Machines to crank out the babies as fast as can be.  The Lorax saw a situation spinning out of control and told the Once-ler, “Your Machines are hurting The Mothers!” But the Once-ler would not hear it.  He dismissed The Lorax as a crazy, old kook with no understanding of this new-fangled technology.

Every time The Lorax showed up to complain, the Once-ler boasted about a new instrument that would help Him produce faster and cheaper, all the while ignoring the destruction around Him.   The Lorax pleads with The Once-ler, “The Mothers say their tummies feel crummy!” But the Once-ler saw no connection between His Super Axe-Hacker and the problems the Mummys had with their Crummy-feeling Tummies.  After all, The Greedy Old Once-ler was figgering on biggering and biggering, and stopping to care for the Crummy-Tummied Mummies would complicate His enterprising plans.

Eventually, The Lorax was driven from that place, and could no longer speak for The Mothers.  But in the absence of The Lorax, the landscape looked quite grim.   All the way to the horizon laid a sea of chopped-down Mothers who no longer bore the same fruitful yield of yesteryear.  It was only then that The Once-ler realized he had chopped himself straight out of business.

BUT!  —  if we all tell the story of The Lorax, and each plant just one seed, imagine the landscape we could create.  The Lorax could return to speak for The Mothers, while the bounteous, beautiful birth experiences blossom across the land.

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I suppose Dr. Seuss’s book can be applied to a number of different meanings, but I think if Dr. Seuss were here today, he’d agree with me on this one.