Did anyone see Glee last night? I am a big fan of the show, and yesterday's episode was especially good. Sue Sylvester, the character played by Jane Lynch (who is hilarious!), has a sister with Down syndrome. Throughout the episode we learn that Sue's sister is the reason Sue doesn't believe in God. She feels that God had let her down, because all throughout her childhood she prayed to him to help her sister "fit in," yet her sister still struggled.
Since watching this I have been thinking about what Charlotte's diagnosis means for Katherine and Will. In my optimistic little world that I have been living in, I tell myself that things are different and society has become more accepting to those with disabilities. It angers me to think about my children having to face such adversity; so I choose not to. Charlotte will have plenty of challenges in her life, and it hurts to think that so many of those challenges may be due to others perception of who they think she is and what they think she should be.
The moral of the story? Stop judging. Stop generalizing. Put yourself in the place of someone else before you make assumptions. Be kind. Practice acceptance. And teach others to do the same....
A little bit of kindness goes a long way.
If you want to check out the episode, here is the link. The last ten minutes were particularly good :-).
http://www.hulu.com/watch/181761/glee-grilled-cheesus
I've always loved this quote about kindness. Still relevant after so many years.
ReplyDelete"Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love." Lao Tzu, Philosopher, 600BC-531BC
Treat people how you want to be treated. I have hear this so many times throught out my life and live by it. This reminds me of something that happened in high school... A young man with a learning disabilty was being picked on all class. After class a bully punched him in the face knocking him over breaking his glasses and making him bleed all over. The bell rang and everyone ran to class. I walked over to him and helped him up he was so scared he wet himself. The next day I brought in a pair of my old glasses and we where friends from then on. No matter how many bad people are out there the kind peolpe will always prevail. Paul
ReplyDeleteEm, I saw that Glee episode...my favorite part was when Sue asked her sister if she believed in God and her sister said "Yes...God doesn't make mistakes." Amen!
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