It’s funny the way that our minds work. Some things we remember, and some things we forget. Let me give you a classic example. It will probably surprise you to read this, but I recall next to nothing about my wedding day. I recently admitted as much to my wife. I’m very glad that she’s the kind of woman who is okay with this. This proves, once again, that Alaine is the right gal for me.
Lately, I’ve been thinking about another momentous day in my life, equally long ago. But, I must not get ahead of myself. I need to first set the stage.
I’ve long pondered the question: What, actually, makes us human? For me, this question is deeply personal. Let me explain.
After graduating from high school in 1982, I enlisted in the Air Force, serving four years on active duty. A short while after my enlistment ended, I enrolled at Wayne State College in Nebraska. I spent the next three years at WSC earning a BA in Secondary Education (Social Studies).
During my final semester, I completed ten weeks of student teaching. I hated this experience. As much as I loved history and government, it was an entirely different story when it came to getting teenagers to feel the same way! And so it was that I graduated with very mixed emotions. I was eager to move on to the next stage of my life, but knew, deep down, that teaching was not the career for me.
I started to scour the want ads, looking for a full-time, permanent employment. I had all the incentive I needed! Alaine and I were dating at this time. She’d told me that we could get engaged once I had landed a job. Those were some nerve-wracking days as I looked for work. The only problems was, I had earned a degree in a field that I would not be pursuing.
In the summer of 1990, I applied for a position as a social services worker with Region IV. This multi-county nonprofit had various locations in northeast Nebraska. The agency’s sole mission was assisting adults with developmental disabilities.
A short while after applying for the job, I received an invitation to an interview. Eager for the opportunity, I drove to Norfolk. Before sitting down with my interviewer, Larry gave me a tour of the facility, including the work room.
It was there that I received an introduction to the people that Region IV assisted. It was an eye-opening, and ultimately unforgettable, experience.
While many of the clients were high functioning, some, like Mike and Greg, were not. They could only communicate in grunts and gestures. Lois would sometimes do so in screams. All three had IQ levels on par with a one-year old.
I ended up working at Region IV for 3 years.
In 1993, we picked up stakes, moving to St. Paul. I had enrolled at Concordia College (as it was then known), planning to become a minister. One of the first classes that I took was Speech. To be honest, I was none too happy about this. Why was this? I had already taken a speech class during my WSC days. Unfortunately, it had a more generic title on my transcript. I couldn't get the Concordia registrar to budge. I would have to take the course again.
All of this leads up to Lori Charron's speech class. She gave us some great advice as we got started. Dr. Charron advised us not to pick trendy subjects for our speeches. Instead, she suggested that we select ones which held a deep personal interest. As a result, one of the students gave a fantastic talk on his work as a movie theater projectionist. In the meanwhile, I thought about what I would say when my turn came. I decided to talk about my experience at Region IV. I did so asking the question: What makes us human? Mike, Greg, and Lois were at the front of my mind.
Many would claim that it's our reasoning ability that differentiates us from other species. But where does this leave Mike, Greg, and Lois? Does this mean that they are less than human? Is there such a thing as subhuman? Some, like Princeton professor Peter Singer believe so. His ideas are deeply repugnant to me. Still, the question won't go away: What makes us human? Is there anything that makes us unique from other species? Can the answer be found in biology? Philosophy? Ethics? Or must we look elsewhere?
All the while, I think about Mike, Greg, and Lois. No amount of reasoning can convince me that they’re less human than myself.
As I continue to think about this, Ecclesiastes intrudes on my thoughts once again. He, too, pondered and agonized over the question: What makes us human?
I also said to myself, “As for humans, God tests them so that they may see that they are like the animals. Surely the fate of human beings is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; humans have no advantage over animals. Everything is meaningless. All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return. Who knows if the human spirit rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?”
So I saw that there is nothing better for a person than to enjoy their work, because that is their lot. For who can bring them to see what will happen after them?
I can’t stop thinking about Ecclesiastes, and about Mike, Greg and Lois. It’s because of articles like this one, published two years ago.
There is one additional detail I should have included in my post. Although I only worked at Region IV for a short while, my twin brother and my sister-in-law have been with the agency (now called NorthStar) for more than three decades.