Questions

Recently I saw the movie "The Music Within". This movie is about a young college student who goes off to the Vietnam War and loses most of his hearing. Upon his return, the college refuses his government paid tuition on the basis that he's deaf and needs special needs. He meets another young man who has cerebral palsy and they become best freinds because they are both alienated from society for different reasons. Watching their struggle in society, it made me wonder how I treat people with special needs on a daily basis. The main argument Art (the friend with cerebral palsy) makes is that special people don't want to be ignored. He's angry that people can ignore someone who looks and acts the way he does. I had to ask myself then, do I ignore these people too? Am I trying not to look like I'm staring, or making them uncomfortable? This is one of the reasons that these people are treated differently throughout our society, because many other people act the same way that I do but they don't question why. I also began to question how well I think I know people with special needs. I think that we all make assumptions about someone based on their visible limitations, but there could be so much more right underneath the surface. In the movie, Art is completely limited by his physical state but he's a certified genius. This paradox would drive any normal person mad, but Art embraces it and moves through his life overcoming his obstacles. It made me wonder how many times people are underestimated because people think they are handicapped. In the movie, the main character turns out to be the person who writes the handbook on how to hire and interact with handicapped people in the workplace. This book permeated every corner of the working and social world and changed the way the handicapped community was viewed within society. He was also a major advocate for the ADA (Americans With Disabilities Act). This proves to me that people who are different and may be considered "handicapped" may just be able to achieve more than any other talented person with normal circumstances. I wonder now how many business people, executives, politicians, officials, and major power holders may have disabilities of their own. In truth, every one is the same. We're all human beings, we all have dreams, and we all have talents. They may be different between individual people, but that's what makes us unique as a human race. We should embrace the differences among ourselves and strive to see the light coming from each individual person.