Personal essays
I would not could not and then I tried it
Green Eggs
In math we use x, y and other letters to stand in for the thing we don’t know - the thing that can change - the thing that is variable.
Don’t worry, this isn’t an essay about math.
But maybe you remember the point-slope equation of a line: y = mx + b. In this equation m stands for the slope and b stands for the value where the line intersects the y-axis. x can be anything.
“But Daniel,” you ask, “when am I ever going to use math in real life.”
I don’t know, but in the classic book on coming to grips with internal biases, x is replaced by “Green Eggs and Ham.”
Green Eggs and Ham aren’t really Green Eggs and Ham. It’s a variable that can stand for anything.
You know people who are sure they object to something – “Those people shouldn’t be allowed to …”.
“Those people” are the m and b, the thing they shouldn’t be allowed to do is x - or if you like - Green Eggs and Ham.
And that’s why, Sam I am, I do not like Green Eggs and Ham.
But, what if they do it way over there? It doesn’t affect you, why do you care?
It does not affect me and yet I care Even if they do it way over there I do not want them doing it any where I do not like Green Eggs and Ham And I don’t care for libs like you Sam I am.
Dr. Seuss, it turns out, was way ahead of his time. He was Orwell but constrained to using 100 or less.
Jesse
With the passing of Jesse Jackson, many of us took a moment to think back on our memories of his life.
One of the things that popped into my head was his appearance on Saturday Night Live after Dr. Seuss died to read “Sam I Am”.
He read it with the same cadence as his poem “I am … Somebody.”
It was a parody of himself and he was all in.
Dr. Seuss wrote about those who would not, could not in a boat, with a goat, in a box, or with a fox.
In the childrens’ book the illustrations show the boat and goat, but they’re variables. Any adult reading it night after night realizes they could be replaced by anything.
Sam’s companion doesn’t like Green Eggs and Ham and there are things that their child doesn’t like.
Spoiler alert - the book ends when the hold-out tries Green Eggs and Ham and finds that it’s pretty good.
The parent with depth looks inside of themselves at the things they’re sure they don’t like but have never tried.
How have they convinced themselves that they don’t like this thing?
Somebody
In the early 70’s, long before his two runs for president, Jesse Jackson worked with communities to change the lives of many.
He frequently recited the poem, “I am … Somebody.”
We all spend so much of our days berating ourselves putting ourselves down and believing what we tell ourselves.
The poem reminds each of us, “I am…Somebody”.
It’s sad that we need to remind ourselves that “I am … Somebody”.
It’s sad that we look at others without seeing that they are … Somebody.
It’s not just us that beat up on ourselves. Our leaders and others spend much of the day elevating themselves by convincing us that we aren’t somebody.
As my friend Mark noted, telling us we’re second or third class so often that we’re conditioned to believe it.
And so the poem turns to those who may be poor, young, or small. It speaks to those who may have made mistakes. It calls out those whose clothes, face, or hair is different.
To each of those Jesse would say “I am…” and wait for them to reply “Somebody.”
Say
Dr. Seuss drew characters that weren’t a particular race or color. Often the characters were genderless.
We could see ourselves in those characters. We could see the people around us in those characters.
What happens when someone who is different from you realizes they are somebody?
Like the reluctant Green Egg and Ham eater in that book, we pause and smile and say,
It DOES affect me and I care Even if they do it way over there I want them to know they are somebody Yes I do I want them doing it everywhere
I like this Green Eggs and Ham I wonder what else I like - Sam I am.
Essay from Dim Sum Thinking Newsletter 309. Read the rest of the Newsletter or subscribe