Babies
A short time ago I was privileged to see two young children, one a few weeks, the other a few months, old. It made me think once again about the miracle of life and about change, about differences and, most of all, similarities. Whenever I see babies, it's wondrous to me that these tiny creatures will grow to be adults. They're perfectly formed miniatures of us, they have everything necessary to grow and learn and survive. The whole process of birth and life seems miraculous to me. But also, when I see these helpless children, I wonder how the human race has survived. It takes so long for human babies to reach an age where they could survive on their own. Something in the most primitive of our ancestors must have told them that it was important that babies survive. Something inside us all, some instinct, some inner guide, must tell us all to protect children, to ensure our own survival as a species.
I also think about how fast things change. We all know that life is a continuous process of change, of growth and learning, of birth and death, of beginnings and ends. But the changes seem to me most marked in babies. The differences between a few weeks of life and a few months are amazing. In a few short months, the baby learns to communicate effectively, to recognize different people, to respond to differences in his or her environment. The baby at a few weeks seemed almost inert, seeming not to notice the people around him. The baby at a few months was clearly able to differentiate among the people who looked on lovingly. The older baby was able effectively to communicate, not with words, but with movement and changes in expression.
But most importantly to me, seeing these two babies made me recognize once again how much more alike people are than they are different. These two babies were of different races, different circumstances, yet they were more similar than disparate. This has been evident to me for a long time yet it's good to be reminded once in a while. Whenever I think of hateful behavior that is based on differences, I wish I could find a way to make them see these babies. I wish I could find a way to communicate to the haters that the people they hate are just like them, are them. I find it more and more difficult to understand those who focus on differences in their fellow humans, who fail to see that people are so much alike in their fundamental characteristics, in their instincts, in their desires, in their responses.
Somehow those of us who participate in educating the young must be teaching the wrong lessons, must be emphasizing differences, must be encouraging bad behavior towards our fellow human beings. If we could only see more babies, we would better understand that all humans are much alike, that they all deserve to be treated with dignity and compassion. I don't advocate condoning bad behavior in others, in ignoring differences in skills and attitudes and ethics. I only urge that we don't assume that the people we deal with are different from us and use that assumption as an excuse for treating them poorly. Treat everyone as if he or she was you. You'll be surprised how often people respond in kind.
4-7-03
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