The Trees Have Spoken

"Mister!", he said with a sawdusty sneeze,
"I am the Lorax, I speak for the trees.
I speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues,
And I'm asking you, sir, at the top of my lungs" --
He was very upset as he shouted and puffed --
"What's that THING you've made out of my Truffula tuft?"
– The Lorax, Dr. Seuss (1971)

Long gone are the days where the newspaper was picked up from the bottom of the driveway, de-dripped from the sprinkler overflow, and tucked under an arm to be dried out and leisurely perused during the hour-long work break for lunch. The romance of the paper is virtually gone. It now arrives on demand with a smart phone and free wi-fi.

Newspaper racks slowly disappear much like the demise of the payphone booth. And the newspaper industry is rather worried, according to a friend in the industry. It is assumed the same goes for the book publishers and the countless magazines strewn in racks in the grocery store. Rumor has it they might seek an Obama bailout.

And yet, the old Once-ler knows ...

The news hasn’t gone away. Authors still write. Fashion, cooking, cars, and gossip thrive as always. The old Once-ler knows the ideas and images and writing still prevail. They may, in fact, routinely crank ‘em out today at record levels. The Lorax would be the first one to exclaim, “And, it is about time!”, as it is the cost of paper and their delivery that makes the economics of the newspaper/book/magazine difficult.

It is the trees that handcuff the publishing industries to the past. It is the paper that keeps them old world. Take away the paper from the mix and one is left with a less expensive way to deliver the same content. It is quicker and more accessible, and requires the producers to work with more urgency. That isn’t a bad thing.

There is more to worry about than the life expectancy of a paper product. The old guard resists change. That is obvious. The new world embraces it. That is less obvious.

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,
Nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”
– The Lorax, Dr. Seuss (1971)

The good Dr. was wrong to certain degree. The majority does indeed care. A lot. Though they may not really know it. Most endorse change. They do care. A tree told me.

Now, where is that Barbaloot suit? There exists an urgency to find a creative Halloween costume.