Assignment #1

Ok, so I’ve been given this assignment from my sister (Sadie) to write about what the world would be like if we were all blind! Gee……talk about funneling down the topic for the sake of paragraph development – NOT so much in this case. Indeed, this seemed like a ridiculously broad topic to me; nevertheless, I started putting some thought into it and decided to give it a shot.

Sadie pointed out some good things regarding the economy and how it would be different. For instance, we wouldn’t be able to see how to drive, so we wouldn’t need automobiles, and we wouldn’t need the gasoline for them; hence, no need for oil wars!! So, there you go. Voila! World peace problem solved.

A multitude of industries would definitely be affected though, such as, cosmetics (nobody would care how we looked without makeup), clothing and fashion (all we’d need would be a blanket or perhaps a comfy loin cloth of some sort for the weather, comfort, and protection), home décor (we wouldn’t need to decorate our homes….just the basic furniture to sit on, lie on, and eat on), sports equipment and the sports business in general (we wouldn’t be able to see how to catch, throw, putt, kick, hit, or punch; we couldn’t watch sports either -- live or TV), so you get the point. The economy would be completely different based upon our needs.

However, knowing the human being like I do, I’m sure we’d make up for all of those unneeded industries with others. For example, we would be so much more dependent upon our other senses; particularly hearing. Therefore, the technology of sound would be a booming industry and of course we would be forced to just listen to everyone instead of LOOK and listen. So, radio and sound recordings would continue to be a huge necessity. Luckily the music industry would flourish but, unfortunately the other arts would suffer. We already know that blind people can really kick ass on a musical instrument so, no problems there. But, no need for the wonderful painters or even color for that matter! So, as this topic is getting way too broad and entirely out of hand, I will let your imagination and intrigue do the rest and come up with all the zillion other stuff I could write about but won’t!

As far as our relationships with people, a much needed change could possibly occur. We wouldn’t be so judgmental on how one looks but, we would certainly be into how they feel and smell!! We would be more conscious of how we speak and be mindful of the tone and inflections of our voices. But, perhaps by not being able to see the person we would be more intuitive with each other. We’d be more sensitive because we would “sense” others’ feelings and thoughts. Actually, we should really do that anyway but, we don’t always choose to do so. Thus, we would definitely be more dependent upon each other, I feel. I think it would be terrible to be blind and alone anyway. I’m sure that blind people today already feel alone at times even if in a large group of people -- but, physically being alone would make it even worse.

In the end, I think blindness would bring about more fear. Not really knowing what’s going on….even when you’re awake! Not seeing what people are doing, not seeing their expressions, and feeling that you’re not receiving the absolute truth. So, not only is our fear enhanced but, our trust is disabled as well.

I’m guessing that God really knew what he was doing when he gave us FIVE senses (well, actually SIX if you count intuition). He knew that we would not be whole (as a society) without the gift of sight. He knew the right combinations, ingredients, components, design, features, etc. in order to create a functional human being. I, for one am glad that he figured that one out -- Because, I really like having eyes. Sight brings me a plethora of happiness. Like when I see my son smile at me or his expression as he reads a book – I just completely melt with emotion. When I see the sunrise in the morning, I feel hope and gratitude for a continuation of life, love, and all that could possibly happen that day. When I see my mother’s face as I visit her and feel comfort, knowing that I still have her on this earth with me – seeing that same face that looked at me as a child and made me feel that I was always safe and loved. To be able to see the beautiful little house that I grew up in, as I enter the driveway. Just knowing it’s still there, looking basically the same, always makes me feel like….me again.

So, dear sister -- as I ponder your question with much thought and contemplation, let me just say that in my well-educated opinion...... I think the world would be damn scary if we were all blind! How's that for a scholarly statement? Seriously, we would probably still be thinking that we were all standing on a vast, flat surface with a lot more obstacles than just some occasional big rock that we bump into, or a wild animal that we need to run from. Our obstacles would also include fear, doubt, distrust, apprehension, and anxiety! Yeah, we all experience these emotions already but, come on……why double the dosage? So, since I obviously cannot think of a clever and significant ending for this never ending topic …..I’ll just finally end with a verse of a song that’s been going on in my head ever since I started this continuous rant:

I can see clearly now the rain is gone.
I can see all obstacles in my way.
Gone are the dark clouds that had me down.
It’s gonna be a bright, bright sun shiny day!