“We
hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they
are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these
are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”
I
recently watched an episode of ‘The West Wing’, entitled ‘The Stackhouse
Filibuster’, which had a storyline concerning autism. I really like the series (despite not
understanding more than half of what they’re talking about!), but I was rather
dismayed, and more than a little pissed off, to see their treatment of the
subject. Apparently autism is a
disease. Yep – I’m suffering from an
incurable illness. And it’s also a great
tragedy for those of us born with this thing (not to mention our poor families
who don’t know what to do with us).
Please, get the hankies out - I feel a drama coming on.
First
of all, I AM NOT ILL!. Nor am I at dis-ease with myself (the annoying
word-play that has proliferated within Twelve Step recovery circles, and makes
no bloody sense whatsoever when put within the right context of what
alcoholism, and other addictions/compulsive behaviours, actually are). I’m not suffering from my autism – except
when I have to deal with a world of ignorant people who cannot accept that
there is more variety to life than they can imagine, and that God made me this
way because S/He has an unlimited imagination and absolute love of diversity,
unlike some people. Take a look around
at everyone and everything that inhabits this planet, if you need proof.
So
no, S/He didn’t make a mistake when making me.
Which means that no, S/He doesn’t intend that you should spend your time
trying to find a way to fix me, or to obliterate autism - thanks very much for your acceptance. Why don’t they spend all that money they use
for research into how to put an end to it, on training and educating people who
are needed to interpret for us, and to help us live in this world? And where’s the difference between Hitler and
his search for a “Final Solution” to put an end to the Jews, who were seen as
so radically and unacceptably different and inferior, and the non-autistic
search for a solution to autism?
Secondly,
thanks for being so patronising as to feel sorry for me, and my apparently tragic
life, which it appears makes me somehow less than you (if you happen to be one of
those people who think this way). The
tragedy is that those people cannot see that God made me for a reason, just
like S/He did everyone else; that I too have “certain unalienable rights”; and I
was created equal – equal in this case meaning having the same value.
Thankfully
God doesn’t make any of those distinctions between people which only human
beings, in their wisdom, could possibly come up with – deciding whose life is
worth more based on the colour of their skin, gender, age, marital status, physical
appearance or build, academic ability, family lineage, financial status,
religious/spiritual beliefs or non-belief, country of origin, productivity, mental
health status (autistic, depressive, alcoholic, neurotic, etc), ad
infinitum. If S/He did, I’d be fucked!
I
therefore hereby declare myself an independent member of the human race, equal
in the eyes of a loving Higher Power (I just call it God ‘cos it’s easier to say and remember!), and without need of a human power to decide my value to
society. Thanks all the same, but if that’s
the way a person is measured then I’m very glad to be able to say that I don’t
fit, and I don’t need to try any more. There's a bigger world out there, beyond the confines of 'society' and its rules, to which I much prefer to belong. And it's where I do belong - just as I am, perfectly imperfect, exactly the way that God created me. Long may the geneticists fail to find a 'cure' for autism!
