I would like to offer my thoughts on ‘the invisibles’ within our society. ‘The invisibles’ are people who are being deliberately ignored. Unfortunately, in some ways, we have developed into a society of ‘them/us’ originating out of ignorance and resulting in fear, hatred and prejudice where kindness, compassion and understanding can be in short supply. In fact, society comprises not only of ‘the invisibles’ but also ‘the unteachables’. The ‘unteachables’ are those people with the attitude, ‘don’t bother me with the facts: my mind is made up already’. Ignorance is not bliss. It can be downright dangerous.
Now that I am many decades into my life span, I offer my observations on ‘the invisibles’. The elderly and the very young can be ‘the invisibles’. People of different cultures and dress are ‘the invisibles’. Handicapped people using canes or wheelchairs are ‘the invisibles’. People who express themselves through body art or dress are ‘the invisibles’. When and how did we get to this stage in our evolution when we became a society of categorizing our fellow human beings as us/them? Please remember our attitudes and prejudices can be passed to our young people perpetuating the attitude of exclusion.
As for the very young, they too want to be heard. Children discover early on that sometimes the only way to communicate TO an adult is to be loud and/or demanding. Notice the reaction of parents trying to calm their child while others walk by scowling, staring straight ahead or hurrying past in an effort to avoid the whole unfortunate situation.
I admit I can be a bit of a Pollyanna! Life, in all it’s stages, can be difficult and challenging BUT I do believe we all need and want to be acknowledged and respected. Yes, I know, respect must be earned! However, alienation of a segment of society must not be tolerated. Many things can be said and points made but in the end we must remember one thing: we are all human beings, inhabiting the same planet. We need to work together for the sake of our civilization. Look up into the night sky and understand this. Each human is merely one grain of sand on a very large beach working with other grains of sand for the continued survival of the beach. Now, extend that thought to the unimaginable vastness of the universe. When we understand our isolation and insignificance as one grain of sand, we can truly understand our importance in the universe!