American Minute with Bill Federer
Helen Keller "Self-pity is our worst enemy ..."
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Helen Keller
was born June 27, 1880.
At the age of two she suffered an illness that left her blind and deaf.
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Her parents took her to
Dr. Alexander Graham Bell
who recommended the
Perkins Institute for the Blind
in Boston.
It was there, at age of 7, that
Helen Keller
was taught by
Anne Sullivan
through the sense of touch.
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Anne
eventually taught
Helen
to read
Braille.
Helen Keller
began attending
Radcliffe College,
where Anne Sullivan interpreted the lectures.
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Helen
became concerned about all the blind, especially those blinded in World War I or by poor working conditions.
Though naive in her political views, she received numerous international honors for her efforts to help the blind.
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Helen Keller
learned to type on a
Braille typewriter
and wrote many books between 1903 and 1941, including:
The Story of My Life,
1903;
Optimism,
1903;
The World I Live In,
1908;
The Song of the Stone Wall,
1910;
Out of the Dark,
1913;
My Religion,
1927;
Midstream,
1930;
Let Us Have Faith,
1941; and
The Open Door,
1957.
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Helen Keller
stated:
"I thank God for my handicaps, for, through them, I have found myself, my work, and my God."
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In the film documentary of her life,
The Unconquered,
Helen Keller
responded to the question, "Can you see the world?":
"I can see, and that is why I can be so happy, in what you call the dark, but which to me is golden.
I can see a God-made world, not a man-made world."
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On June 26, 1955, regarding reading the Bible,
Helen Keller
stated:
"It gives me a deep comforting sense that 'things seen are temporal and things unseen are eternal.'"
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The
Jewish & Christian Bible view
of handicapped persons is strikingly different from other belief systems.
The
traditional Islamic attitude
is that a handicapped person is being punished or cursed of Allah. "Such are the men whom Allah has cursed for He has made them deaf and blinded their sight." (Qur'an 47:23)
Hindu
and
Buddhist attitudes
is that a handicapped person is being punished for sins of a supposed past life by an impersonal "bad" karma.
The
Socialist attitude
is that a handicapped person is a burden on the State, being worth less because of their limited capacity to contribute to society.
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The Jewish attitude is in
Leviticus 19:14:
"Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the LORD,"
and
Deuteronomy 27:18
"Cursed be he that maketh the blind to wander out of the way. And all the people shall say, Amen."
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The Christian attitude was expressed by Jesus, who said:
"Whatever you have done unto the least of these my brethren you have done unto me."
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Helen Keller
stated:
"Just as all things upon earth represent and image forth all the realities of another world, so the Bible is one mighty representative of the whole spiritual life of humanity."
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Helen Keller
addressed the
Lions Clubs International Foundation Convention
in Cedar Point, Ohio, in 1925 on behalf of the
American Foundation for the Blind:
"Dear Lions and Ladies:
I suppose you have heard the legend that represents opportunity as a capricious lady, who knocks at every door but once, and if the door isn't opened quickly, she passes on, never to return.
And that is as it should be. Lovely, desirable ladies won't wait. You have to go out and grab 'em.
I am your opportunity. I am knocking at your door. I want to be adopted ...
The American Foundation for the Blind
... grew out of the imperative needs of the blind ...
Its object is to make the lives of the blind more worthwhile everywhere by increasing their economic value and giving them the joy of normal activity ..."
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Helen Keller
continued:
"Try to imagine how you would feel if you were suddenly stricken blind today.
Picture yourself stumbling and groping at noonday as in the night; your work, your independence, gone.In that dark world wouldn't you be glad if a friend took you by the hand and said,
'Come with me and I will teach you how to do some of the things you used to do when you could see?'
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That is just the kind of friend the
American Foundation
is going to be to all the blind in this country if seeing people will give it the support it must have.
You have heard how through a little word dropped from the fingers of another, a ray of light from another soul touched the darkness of my mind and I found myself, found the world, found God.
It is because my teacher learned about me and broke through the dark, silent imprisonment which held me that I am able to work for myself and for others ..."
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She concluded:
"It is the caring we want more than money.
The gift without the sympathy and interest of the giver is empty.
If you care, if we can make the people of this great country care, the blind will indeed triumph over blindness.
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The opportunity I bring to you,
Lions,
is this:
To foster and sponsor the work of the
American Foundation for the Blind.
Will you not help me hasten the day when there shall be no preventable blindness; no little deaf, blind child untaught; no blind man or woman unaided?
I appeal to you
Lions,
you who have your sight, your hearing, you who are strong and brave and kind.
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Will you not constitute yourselves
Knights of the Blind
in this crusade against darkness? I thank you."
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The
LIONS
adopted the mission for the detection of vision problems in children, provision of glasses for the needy, and many other such projects, such as an initiative to eliminate river blindness in Africa.
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The LIONS Eye Institution for Transplant and Research
is the leading institution for ocular science.
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In
Nashville Tennessee the Vanderbilt Eye Center
has been funded by large donations from
LIONS.
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On February 5, 1955, at the age of 74,
Helen Keller
typed a message on a conventional typewriter during an interview with newsmen just prior to her 40,000 mile world-wide journey, much of which was by airplane:
"It's wonderful to climb the liquid mountains of the sky. Behind me and before me is God and I have no fears."
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On June 26, 1955, the day before her 75th birthday,
Helen Keller
stated:
"Self-pity is our worst enemy and if we yield to it, we can never do anything wise in the world."
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Helen Keller
was introduced to
President Grover Cleveland
at age 7.
She met
President Eisenhower
in 1953.
She received letters from
eight U.S. Presidents
-- from T
heodore Roosevelt
in 1903 to
Lyndon B. Johnson
in 1965.
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In 1961,
Helen Keller
met
President John F. Kennedy.
She received the
French Legion of Honor
and the
U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom.
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On March 17, 2003, the
U.S. Mint i
ssued
a quarter coin
representing the State of Alabama which honored
Helen Keller.
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A statue of Helen Keller
as a young girl, learning the sense of touch at a water pump is in the
U.S. Capitol
from the State of Alabama.
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Helen Keller
concluded:
"Four things to learn in life:
To think clearly without hurry or confusion;
To love everybody sincerely;
To act in everything with the highest motives;
To trust God unhesitatingly."
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American Minute is a registered trademark of William J. Federer. Permission is granted to forward, reprint, or duplicate, with acknowledgment.
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Schedule Bill Federer for informative interviews & captivating PowerPoint presentations: 314-502-8924
wjfederer@gmail.com
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