To the editor, 

I was upset to learn that several of Dr. Seuss’s books are going out of production due to cultural sensitivity. Cultural sensitivity seems to be the reason Leinenkugel redid its iconic logo, a Native American woman artistically posed over, what I have been told, is Lake Superior.

I get the reasoning behind these visual and book redoes. In a real way, it is censorship that is acceptable, but does it improve anything in our day-to-day lives we live?   

Sensitivity, as a word, is a way to say the presentation “hurts a person’s feelings or may offend,” thus to avoid this situation we eliminate the logo, book, poster, movie, whatever. This is a band-aid to our social consciousness. 

What about the deeper matter of respect for one and another? If we respect one and another as human beings, it matters little what lifestyle, who you love, where you live, or what religion you profess. 

The larger and deeper commitment to the community is how we treat one and another. Changing logos or censoring books because we are sensitive, is a small move to a much larger problem. 

We do not need more small steps, but giant acceptance of each of us as human beings united by our common humanity on this earth. If we treat each other with dignity and acceptance, small items such as logos, books, and posters, would fall into place. Granted, it is a challenge to accept every person in our day with compassion and acceptance.

It is up to every one of us to live this simple truth. We could avoid massive legislation, iconic redo, and awful animosity between life visions that conflict. We are all human beings, we all must live here, so let’s find the common ground of respect, compassion, and acceptance.  We need more than band-aides; we need a turning towards each other and seeing that we are all connected, and basically on the same journey.