Living beings tend to have the ability to look up and look down, to move forward and move backward, to sit down and stand up. We can analyse the concept of our conscience in the same way. No matter the amount of riches that you have, you should be able to empathize with the hungry and those in need, and try to be a helper. Those without a disability should be able to imagine the hardships that come with having a disability and be kind to people with a disability. The point is that life shouldn’t be viewed from our own personal reality.
Here is an example: When people in positions of power embezzle money, it seems as though they are viewing life through their own reality. They have offered themselves to enslavement, under the dictatorship of power. They have not allowed themselves to be conscious of the plight of the young woman who wants to get an education but can’t afford it or the plight of the family who is going to lose a loved one to an illness because of poor hospital equipment – an issue that the money being embezzled could fix. These are examples but for many in different societies, a truth, a reality.
As human beings, we must tap into our conscience, we should make a bond with it and not abandon it. Life is not perfect for anyone – at some points in our lives, we all have struggles. I like that quote that advises us to be kind to one another because we all go through hard times. Whether you are poor, rich, disabled, marginalized etc., we all have something to offer one another. We all have the ability to empower one another. So, the fact that I have used the examples of the rich aiding those in need or that those without a disability should care for those with one or more disabilities, does not debunk that last sentence.
However, I see that we live in a beautiful yet marginalizing world. The poor are not always cared for and are often stigmatized. Disabled people in society are not always respected, some are bullied. There are many oppressions that people face in society because of their socioeconomic status, race, religion, level of education or disability. This is why we must all bond with our conscience, so that we do not become oblivious to the realities of people ins situations of need and we should strive to make extinct, systems that push people to the margins of society. I will leave you with these words by Jack Layton: “My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world”.
Love,
Chiamaka
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