4. WE ARE HERE! WE ARE HERE! WE ARE HERE!

The last moral or lesson I gather from this story is what to say and how we should say it when we do finally speak up. How many things could the Whos yell in their desperate hour? "HELP", "Please don't kill us", "Stop". Any of these would be fitting considering the circumstances but that's not what they said. They did not make a victims cry. The Whos did not take a submissive or weak stance regardless of their predicament. They cried "We are here! We are here! We are here!" We are a force to be reckoned with. We will not go unnoticed or unheard. You must recognize that we are here and listen to our demands.

The second part of this moral is how they said it. It wasn't just Dr. Whovey yelling through his contraption. It wasn't only the liberals or just the conservatives. It was everyone. It wouldn't work otherwise. After their initial cry with 99.9% of their population Horton exclaimed "You should have heard that. Just as clear as a bell. Everything's going to be just perfectly swell. The leader of the government then said "Hmm, I heard nothing and you didn't either; and as for my prodigy, he didn't neither.

It wasn't enough. Everyone was playing their instruments, yelling, yelping and yapping but it didn't work. The next part of the story shows Horton starting to lose hope.

Dr. you have to make certain that everyone's working.
Look through your town, is there anyone shirking?
Was there anyone shirking?
Was every who working
Through the town raced doc Whovey
From east to the west
Everyone seemed to be doing his best
Everyone seemed to be yapping or yipping
Everyone seemed to be beeping or bipping
It wasn't enough, all this ruckus and roar
He had to find someone to help him make more.
He raced through each building, he searched floor by floor.
And just as he felt he was getting no where
And almost about to give up in despair
In the Fairfax apartments
Apartment 12J
Behind an umbrella stand
Hidden away
He discovered a very small shirker named Jo Jo
Standing, just standing and bouncing a Yo-Yo
Not making a sound
Not a yip, not a chirp
Come boy you're needed
He grabbed the young twerp
And he raced with the lad
Toward the Eifelberg tower
This is your town's darkest hour.
Thus he spoke as he climbed
Then he got to the top then the doctor said
Make a yip make a yop
Can't ya yip, can't ya yop
I just don't know sir, I never have tried
You better try soon or you're going to be fried
Well then, I think I'll try a yip
Actually sir, I think I'll try a yop
YOP

As if by magic, that yop traveled through the clouds and burst out of their little world, tearing a hole so that the rest of the people could be heard. Many would say that it was Jo Jo's yop that saved the day. It was his voice that pierced the veil to allow everyone else's voice to be heard. I say that that is not true. While his voice was important, it was no more important than every other beep, bip, yop or yip being exclaimed by the masses. It was a unified effort and it wasn't until everyone participated that the animals in Horton's world had to listen and could no longer ignore the Whos existence.

If you are reading this then I am sure you have asked yourself, "What can I do?" or, "How can I get involved?" I have also asked myself that a number of times. I have never seen traditional protests, rallies and petitions as being very effective for lasting change because of the numbers required in order for the participants to represent what the majority of us are feeling. So, I want to do something different, something new.

After much thought, I have boiled down my concerns with politics and the government to three simple points:

1. No one knows what the majority truly wants or needs. I have heard, time after time, people say "I think I know", but no one truly knows what the majority is thinking.
2. No one knows if elected officials are acting in the best interest of the majority in their districts or regions.
3. No one can hold elected officials accountable for their actions based on the previous two problems.

With the power of the internet and existing technologies, this shouldn't be the case. Soon it won't be the case. I'll tell you what I am doing, and then I will ask you what you are doing.

To start with, how is it that America can have 90 million people frequently logging into their Facebook accounts to see what Bobby is doing or what music Jane is listening to, but we cannot get 90 million Americans to voice their opinions on key issues such as health care reform, the war in Iraq, the border and other issues. Why is it we can't get 90 million Americans to vote on the recently passed health care reform package before it comes up for vote in Congress so that our representatives know how they should vote?

To alleviate these issues and to start "blowing on a bluza" I am creating an online social networking site, similar to that of Facebook and other popular sites focused on politics, opinions, current legislation and the voting history of our elected officials, called Voycit.com. Members of Voycit.com can voice their opinions on all of the hot issues we are currently facing. Members can also vote on bills that are up for discussion in Congress. All opinions, votes and demographics will be sent off to our elected officials twice monthly. Members will then be able to see easy-to-read dashboards showing how they compare with the majority and how their representatives voted compared to theirs. Before each election, members will receive a special report showing how the majority in their area feels about certain topics and how the candidates have voted in the past.

If we can get enough people, we can have a much better idea of what the majority wants and if our government is acting in our best interest. You will never hear me tell you to vote this way or that or try to persuade you to my views. You will only hear the resounding cry of Sound off, Sound off, it's time to be heard. Your time's running out, it's your time to be heard.

Now I will ask you what you are doing? I would ask, if nothing else, that you make yourselves heard. Start by forwarding this message on to your friends and family. How many chain letters or junk emails are sent on when they have nothing of value to offer the recipients? Please forward this on. Then follow my blog which is chronicling the creation of Voycit.com, comment on articles, participate in polls and let me know you are out there. Finally, register for Voycit.com when it launches early next year. Spend only a few minutes every month to let others know how you feel and hold your elected officials accountable for their actions. Our time's running out. It's our time to be heard!!