Friends, the thought occurred to me today that the world would be a different place, perhaps a better place, if humans became blind (perhaps because some pandemic virus attacked the optic nerves).
Think about it a bit. If we couldn’t see we couldn’t:
- shoot or bomb other people. That would bring about peace.
- fall in love with ourselves.
- be turned on by cleavage or tight trousers.
- drive cars, which would lessen global warming.
- watch Hollywood violence.
- be affected by conspicuous consumption or advertising.
- be influenced by men wearing dresses, funny hats and waving smoking things.
But we would:
- become more sympathetic to others.
- work together to minimize our disability.
- lose many of our egocentric, racist tendencies.
- treat other species with new respect.
- elevate dogs (we’d all need one to get about).
- become humble and value the little things.
- learn to listen better.
Perhaps blindness might save us from ourselves, stop us destroying our world and each other.
What do you think? Are there other advantages?
That’s a pretty good thought David, we would appreciate nature a lot more and ornithology would be a big avenue of employment. What a job that would be listening to birds sing their beautiful songs all day long. With their songs being the only distinguishing factor between species, that would be grand.
However I hate to say it, if humans were always blind since day dot then we would have advanced remote sensing to an extent where it would become our eyes. It is true remote sensing cannot distinguish between race, religion or ideology so this would be a benefit to the species, also we would be more self aware and would encourage others to be self aware as they in the same predicament. Perhaps it would be a world I could happily live in, if everyone else would to.
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David G Reply:
August 6th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
Kemosobi, is sight the faculty that brings us undone, that allows the beast within us to prowl? Without sight, I feel we would become a very different specie, perhaps a more noble, less destructive one.
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I would not like to be blind. I love seeing the beauty of the world. I love to read.
There are other senses that we do not have and it hasn’t made us better for it.
Dogs can smell when other creatures have been around. Bats have radar. Whales communicate through the water. Snakes can sense movement through their skin.
I appreciate the senses that I have. I love music, and sunsets, and kissing, and eating, and dancing, and smelling the flowers and the chili. The Earth is a wonderful place to live, and full of incredible beauty.
I wish the best for you. I know that you’re scared and that is a human emotion that is not pleasant. There is nothing I can say to take it away, but know that you have people all over the planet who care about you, and wish you peace. How cool is that?
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Sight could well be the avenue which our individual beasts nurture. Think about it, before a child is 18 they have probably witnessed 20000 deaths on telly and other forms of media through sight alone. If we had no sight, no one would know what someone being blown up, shot or some other violent event would look like and knowing some one has passed away would be feeling for a pulse.
If lust for a member of the opposite sex was based on smell, touch and hearing and not looks we wouldn’t have beauty industries making women feel uncomfortable because they don’t have the super model look, we would appreciate a persons mind much more. Beauty would be the hand your holding and not in the eyes of another.
Our other senses would be heightened, which would make us more appreciative of all the different signals we would get and interpreting them would not be interfered by first sight. I really do believe if we were all blind we would be a better species. Thankyou David this is a brilliant topic.
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Wagelaborer, without sight you could still do most of the things you mention. Not seeing is a situation I wouldn’t welcome but if the world became peaceful and people became more caring and compassionate then…
Regarding being scared, it’s more the unknown that is frightening, that and my awareness of the dangers inherent in medical intervention.
Kemosobi, the silicon and botox industries would certainly take a hit as would the fashion world. Sports stars would no longer earn millions either and what about sports cars?
Cheers.
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Marlaina Lieberg Reply:
August 7th, 2009 at 6:51 am
It saddens me to read that some of you think things like the world of fashion would take a hit. See, this means you inherrently think blind folks don’t care what we look like. For most, nothing could be further from the truth. I know many blind women who have done breast reduction and breast enhancement surgery, and I myself have permanent eyeliner tatooed to my eyes because that’s the most difficult makeup to apply when you can’t see. I tint my lashes and brows so I don’t have to worry about mascara and such, and do a daily skin care routine because I love how soft my face feels to me. I keep up with fashion because I like wearing stuff that feels good to me. But I’m an old 70′s hippie, so if I don’t like the trend, I wear what I like.
Reading! Oh my gosh, I often am reading 3 or 4 books at a time. and, if amazon hadn’t bowed to the big daddy publishing industry which made them remove the text to speech feature of the Kindle II, I’d have one of those as well. Apple has created a screen reader in its newest iPhone 3GS, so with that I can do anything anybody else can with very few exceptions. audible.com and the National Library for the Blind, a part of the Library of Congress, are my best buds and occupy bandwidth as I download audible and talking books to play either on my iPhone, or on other mp3 players.
Having been now on 18 cruises, I love to travel to new destinations. Nobody gets off ship with me in port, it’s me and my great guide dog, Agnes!
So, I hope as folks respond and react here, you’ll really set aside presumptions you may have about blindness. While some may be true, many and maybe most are myth.
Marlaina
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Grace Reply:
August 8th, 2009 at 3:48 am
Marleina, Thank you for sharing your actual experience of blindness. You have added much to the discussion and thoughts on this subject. If anything, I don’t feel a fear of blindness after reading what you have wrote. Peace.
G.
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Somehow we would probably find some other way to mess things up. We would just use our other senses to do the dirty work. We might have a better sense of smell or hearing and use that to discriminate against the “other”.
It is surely a very nice dream though!
How I wish that is the kind of world my grandson could grow up in. not one in which all some people will see is the color of his skin and be blind to the kind of person he is.
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Grace Reply:
August 7th, 2009 at 5:40 am
Very good point, Jeannie, about the “other.” What is it with humans?? We create the “other” to justify countless atrocities!! I sure hope it is a better world for our kids. A world where people will be judged by their content of character, not their color of skin. I genuinely believe that our survival as a species will depend on seeing ourselves as one human race on a rare planet; working together toward our mutual survival. Some dream, huh? I guess that is why MLK called it his “I have a dream” speech – he dared to speak such revolutionary thoughts. Peace.
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I used to wish I were mute because I always felt on the edge of saying the wrong thing. Solved! if I could keep my mouth closed. Writing has helped me alot to hash out thoughts and speak more succinctly. I no longer wish to be mute and am glad that desire passed.
Being blind would solve many of the world’s problems. I like what I have read here. I will continue to ponder the benefits of world wide human blindness.
The unknown is a source of fear. Especially so in health matters. The imagination can go wild with possibilities. Perhaps it was fear of dark and dangerous forests that allowed us to callously de-forest our planet. It is good to step back and be a witness to our fears. I really like what I am reading lately in the Eckhart Tolle book about the “ego” mimicking ourselves. Step back and observe and stay strong in your self. Sounds good, I like the idea of expansion ism within the self. Like all the outer frontiers have been conquered and the new frontier is right here inside ourselves! Macro/micro, inner/outer universe.
David, I like what Wagelaborer wrote about that people all over the planet care about you, your health and well-being. Very cool. Thank you for being (you). See now, it is moments like these I used to wish I were mute because what I wrote sounds like it could be ‘judgy’ but it is me just running off with thoughts. Peace. : )
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As a blind person, I must say I love this post! I also must say we aren’t all quite so angelic, unfortunately. Sadly, there are racists and narrow minded folks among even those who don’t see. Some of your “if you were blind” statements are right on, some maybe not so much. I’m totally blind, and am a sucker for QVC, for example, so ya don’t have to see to be taken in by ads! And, we don’t really know if the thing about better senses is true; I think I listen for sounds sighted folks don’t need to hear, such as ice machines on the way to my room in a hotel, which can be used as landmarks. However, I have a few more things to add.
If you were blind, you wouldn’t be driving a Prias type vehicle which because it can’t be heard, has the potential to hit and kill other blind people.
If you were blind, you’d save on energy because after all, light bulbs are nothing but a reasonable accommodation for light-dependent people.
If you were blind, you’d see a sunrise and sunset through other senses and know the beauty of each from a far different prospective.
If you were blind, you’d reach out and touch more of life and maybe like me, you’d have a chance to be in the pen with a lion to feel it’s big teeth and beautiful feet and tail.
If you were blind, you’d have the joy of touching words written to you by those you love for braille is an alphabet of touch.
If you were blind, the cost of everything you buy in the stores would come down because braille packaging is cheaper than all that glitzy junk aimed at light dependent folks!
And if you were blind, I hope that as I do, you’d view your blindness as a gift not a lack, and you’d realize that it is most of the sighted world who so fear blindness, which means they fear you, that is the barrier and not your blindness and that you wouldn’t be afraid to travel where you wish, touch what you want to see, and take every opportunity you could to educate light dependent folks that your life is a pretty darned good one!
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Therese Reply:
August 9th, 2009 at 5:06 pm
Thank you for sharing your personal insights, Marlaina. Look forward to hearing more from you.
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when you think about it, most people are already ‘blind’………………..
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Marlaina, your two comments give a marvelous perspective on blindness, one that sighted people could not possibly know. Your account is moving and inspirational.
I extend a warm welcome to you and hope you’ll call again and share with us your wisdom and courage.
Jeannie, if I recall correctly, they say the eyes are the windows of the soul. Some people have dirty windows, I’m afraid!
Grace, as always your words bring hope and solace. I know you too have a lot on your shoulders but you get on with things and you are to be admired for that.
Coco, an excellent observation!
May peace follow all of you around. Cheers.
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like marlaina, i too have a disability. i have only 5% hearing in both ears. but unlike marlaina, i can augment my hearing with aids. however, i appreciate the difficulties that people with lost senses have. and even though i have my sight, i still like to touch and feel things in nature, not just look at them. (as long as they don’t bite!!!!) and when i’m not using my aids, my pets alert me to any unusual sounds. i wonder if marlaina has a helping pet???
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i’ve just read marlaina’s other post………missed it first time around. so i know about agnes and that makes me very happy.
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Interesting post and responses.
Sadly, a majority of people around the World are “blind” hence all the problems ; (
PS: When I was in band a long time ago we had a drummer (jazz) who, when we’d walk, would stop and this I have always remembered vivdly: And say: do you smell that flower? We’d stop, and he’d point and we were in total awe of his ability to see (smell) something that passed us by.
Great lessons for teens!
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Coco, I too wear hearing aids some of the time so I appreciate what your disability means.
Coffee, it’s amazing how the loss of one sense makes the others more acute. It’s amazing too, the importance of the eyes in facilitating some regrettable human behaviour.
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Excuse me, but two of the meanest men I have known, were blind, and very proudly devious.
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David G Reply:
August 9th, 2009 at 6:52 pm
Were the two men blind from birth, Therese?
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Oh, I know some very devious blind people, ! I also wear hearing aids. At night, I look at my husband and laugh and say “well, I took my ears off, my eyes out and now I’ll wear my C-PAP machine!” Yes, I have artirficial eyes and no, they are not glass! The amazing skill that goes into painting and creating eyes is a sight to behold! Yet, few people even know about it. I have great respect for the folks who do this for a living. Now, if only we could fix our very sick healthcare system which views artificial eyes as cosmetic, and therefore pays little to nothing on them. It costs about $2,500 per eye. Because one’s facial structure changes as one adds years to one’s life, these eyes must be replaced about once every ten to fifteen years. Sheesh, who can afford it! But, the point of this post was to have been humor. I do laugh at how bionic I’m becoming. the new iPhone 3GS has a screen reader built in for the blind, so of course I have one; I sync everything with everything; my husband just looks at me and shakes his head. He drives, I navigate! It’s great.
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David G Reply:
August 20th, 2009 at 8:56 am
Marlaina, your sense of humour in spite of your handicaps is truly inspiring. Your husband is a lucky man!
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