I heard about a poll that asked would you rather be disabled or dead and a majority of people said they would rather be dead. Wow, that honestly shocked me. I have thought about this a lot and first of all NO ONE is perfect. I feel like everyone has some sort of physical, mental or emotional imperfection. Do you wear glasses? I don't so to me that makes you disabled. Got a "bad back" I don't so again to me you are disabled. It's just some disabilities are more limiting than others. I have never met a 100% non disabled or "normal" person. I don't think any of those people exists. Anyway, what is "normal"? Sure you can get up and take a shower all by yourself but thats not "normal" for me or thousands like me. I happen to need help getting up and getting a shower so thats "normal" for me.
I also tend to think what a great loss to the world if disabled people all killed themselves. Beethoven was deaf. If he had killed himself the world would have lost some wonderful music. One of our presidents wore leg braces and used a wheelchair. The inventor, Alexander Graham Bell was disabled and teachers were disabled. I am sure there are many more examples. Without some disabled people in the world, we all would have lost some very special things, music, art, books, the telephone etc....
I have also decided it would probably be a much better world if everyone had a limiting disability.
1. Less crime - It is hard to break into a house and rob it if your blind or in a chair. How many disabled gangs do we have? Yes I know disabled people (we) do break the law but I think that would also be greatly reduced but the crime rate would drop.
2. Less war - Yes, it is hard to fight a battled if you have a limiting disability. I suspect generations of disabled humanity would have finally learned to talk and negociate any problems.
3. Since we all would need assistance we all would learn to work together to help each other. What a wonderful thought, we would be more sensitive, perhaps more compassionate and more caring to the needs of others. We would be closer to each other because people would need each other just to get through the day.
I guess non disabled people need to get over the fear disabilities or of disabled people and learn that we are not that different from each other. We laugh, we cry, we love, we hate. We can sing, dance, act, paint, write...etc. Non disabled - disabled, it makes no difference to me because we are not that different from each other. I guess the point is, if you do become "disabled" then let me assure you, life can and does go on.
Janice
