Subtle, Less Obvious, Handicaps

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted. What can I say? With Christmas and the new puppy, I've been quite distracted.

For the inspiration of this Post, I have a new comer to thank that just happened to drop by one of my earlier Posts through a Google Search. His name is Cenk and the page he visited is "Shay's Day - Inspirational Story". I guess that it's not so much what he said that inspired me, but the fact that he visited and commented on an earlier Post and thus got me thinking about that Post again. In doing so, I was reminded of something that I thought of saying relating to the subjects of Handicaps and yet never did say it until now.

The story in the linked Post is about baseball and the reaction of a couple of kids to a handicapped boy, yet sometimes on my blog, I like to compare everything to Politics and even though I never did that with this Post, now that Cenk has caused me to revisit it, I have remembered something that I always wanted to say and never did.

In the world of Politics and Capitalism, there are all sorts of Handicaps. Some are severe enough to earn a person Disability Payments. Others just cause people to not do quite as well in the job world as someone else with a higher IQ or with certain God Given skills that assure their success as long as they put out the necessary effort.

I became very keenly aware of this reality when I was in College. With my slow reading and inability to multitask, I had to study more hours than most to achieve the same results. The fact that I graduated with a degree is no less than a miracle. The average class load is 16 Units, but every single time that I tried to handle that much, I ended up dropping back down to 12 Units because that was all I could handle. Consequently, it took me 5 years to complete the goal, instead of only 4. Many students take on full time jobs while going to school. This was not even an option for me because I simply do not posses the mental capacity, nor the energy required. I was often physically sick as it was, even though my schedule contained less than many other students.

I'm not saying that success does not take human effort, cause it does, yet there are those in our society for which massive amounts of effort does not pay off the same as for someone else.

Some people would use this reality as a justification for Socialism. I don't agree that Socialism is the way to go, nor do a agree with those who make a career out of welfare, yet I am sympathetic enough to those who are weak in some ways that I do not agree with some extreme Republicans who seem to want the Government to be so small that Government Assistant Programs are almost non-existent.

I always remembered something that my father once said in relation to getting assistance, or in this case, I believe it was Educational Scholarships. He said, "If a person is poor, he will be O.K. because he will get the Scholarship. If a person is rich, he will not need the Scholarship because he can afford to pay the Tuition, but if the person is Middle Class, he is really screwed because he can neither get the Scholarship, nor Afford to Pay the Tuition."

Actually, this works the same way with Handicaps. If a person is severely Handicapped (or at least enough to be defined as Retarded/Mentally Challenged, Maimed in some way or so Emotionally Disturbed that it is Diagnosed as a Psychiatric Disease), he can get Disability. If a person is not Handicapped at all (or is actually Significantly Gifted), he will not need the Disability, but if a person is only mildly Handicapped (or not quite as Smart, Efficient or Energetic as the rest), he is screwed because he can neither get the Disability, nor Succeed in a Capitalist Society.

I believe that the above linked story about Shay is not just about how we treat those who are handicapped in some obvious way, but also about how we treat anyone who is weaker than ourselves, such as some of those who are poor. Are we willing to help them or do we just judge them automatically as lazy before we've even taken the time to hear their story?

One of my most Favorite Posts that is listed on the right is the one "Lessons for the Strong and the Weak". In this Post, the Strong are told to be Humble, Don't Judge and Give to the Poor, and the Weak are told to share whatever talents they have no matter how small, don't lose heart and don't give up.

I told you of one of my weaknesses, now I will tell you of one of my strengths. I have the ability to sing. Oddly, my brother can't even carry a tune. Not only do I sing, but harmony is second nature to me. The difference between me and my brother is not because someone taught me to sing and he was deprived of the same training. I wasn't even taught how to do harmony. I was doing that as a child and it was second nature to me.

What I found really strange later was not that I had this ability, but that other people didn't. I'm really amazed at times how common it is to walk into a room or a church where people are all singing in unison and once I add a harmony, I'm the only one doing so. How odd it is that God wouldn't pass this Gift around more than He has. This really puzzles me, yet I tell you the truth. It wasn't through effort that this ability has occurred.

Another thing that frustrates me is how rare it is to find an energetic, highly efficient person who actually realizes that they have a God given Gift.

And then there is a highly common phrase that people throw around that isn't even accurate. I'm sure that many of you have heard and possibly even said "If I can do it, anyone can." Well, what if I was to say that "If I can sing Harmony, anyone can."? This sounds like a humble statement, but really it is not because it denies that there is any God given Talent involved and assumes that the credit goes to our efforts and our efforts alone. When this really gets confusing is when Talent and Effort is combined, yet even if the Effort is significant, this still does not negate the reality of the Gift.

I guess the one verse from the Post, "Lessons for the Strong and the Weak", that keeps coming back to my mind in relation to the Strong is 1 Corinthians 4:7, "For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?" (NIV). This Scripture could not possibly ever be repeated too many times, for it is something that we so continually forget.

Another thing that is worth repeating is what I said earlier about the story relating to Shay. I believe that the above linked story about Shay is not just about how we treat those who are handicapped in some obvious way, but also about how we treat anyone who is weaker than ourselves, such as some of those who are poor. Are we willing to help them or do we just judge them automatically as lazy before we've even taken the time to hear their story?

In closing, I'd like to thank Cenk again for commenting and bringing me back to one of my earlier Posts.