The world is
a unique and diverse place. Wouldn’t you agree? Why is that? Why are we all
different, yet still the same? These questions are fair to ponder. I watched Randa
Haines’ 1986 film, Children of a Lesser God, starring William Hurt and
Marlee Matlin. It’s a beautiful movie. The film is about an instructor, played
by William Hurt, who begins a new teaching at a school for the deaf. He meets a
young deaf woman, played by Marlee Matlin, who works at the school as a custodian,
and they pursue a romantic relationship. She is intelligent and beautiful, but
withdrawn and angry. It was a pleasure to watch the actors communicate in
American Sign Language. It’s such a gorgeous language. The flick inspired me to
look deep within myself and contemplate why we’re all built differently. I feel
confident that I discovered the answer.
We’re meant
to be different because it teaches us the various ways in which one can
maneuver through the world. There are people who can’t hear or are hard of
hearing, and the way they navigate society contrasts greatly to the way that hearing
people live. The same goes for people who are blind, mentally and physically
handicapped, come from disparate racial and cultural backgrounds, and/or identify
with a sexual orientation other than heterosexual. There’s no default lifestyle.
There isn’t necessarily a right or wrong way to live. Of course, in terms of ethics
and morals right and wrong exist, but different does not automatically mean
bad.
What makes
us the same despite our differences? Well, that is straight forward. We all
possess a desire to love and be loved. We all feel pain, experience grief, suffer
loss, endure trauma, have insecurities, and feel sadness and joy, even if both
emotions are fleeting. The list can go on and on, but the point is that if we
don’t try to embrace one another’s differences, then we will never understand
what it means to be empathetic, and we’ll never know what it’s like to live a
full life. I’ll let you ruminate on that.
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