Mark reflects on the place of the disabled in our culture.
Here’s a snippet:
“Our culture commits this sin of ommision all the time when it comes to the disabled, of course in our politically correct culture we watch our language and terms. But every fashion mag, every music video, every piece of advertising stock photography that makes up the media wall paper of our every waking hour, shows taunt, toned, beautiful, and well functioning bodies. It is the absence of the disabled from our media world, that speaks with a horrible and deafening silence, and that betrays our true values.”
Worse still is that even these subtle methods are not enough for some. From time to time land is acquired on which to build a group home – that is a house, for three or four people with a disability. It is a home, not an institution and looks no different from other houses on the street.
Usually these don’t go through council without one or more objections and sometimes it doesn’t make it through council at all.
The objection? It’ll bring the value of ‘my’ house down.
No one has yet demonstrated a decrease in price because a bunch of blokes in wheelchairs live next door. . .
Too true. We still live in a society where it is uncomfortable to have people with disabilities living among us. Yet,there is no doubt that people with disabilities can reveal to us more about ourselves and more about God than the “beautiful” people do.