Chapter Twenty-Five
THE GREATEST AMERICAN
[ a song, easy-listening ]
"Alone we can do so little
Together we can do so much"
You cause the deaf to hear
And set free the lame to touch
Our hearts with life's emotion
So that we, though blind might see
Through the mirror of your star
The love of the Creator of eternity
You fought the mighty battle
Among the simple and the weak
You healed our wounds and scars
And caused the dumb to speak
Of hope and love's pure treasure
So patient and so kind
We know now who is deaf
And who is truly blind
We thank you Helen Keller
For the life you freely shared
In the meekness of your soul
With a heart that truly cared
We find courage and inspiration
From the cross you bravely bore
And when we reach our destiny
We'll thank you forever more
"Alone we can do so little
Together we can do so much"
You cause the deaf to hear
And set free the lame to touch
Our soul with love's pure treasure
So that we, though blind might see
Through the mirror of your star
The love of the Creator of eternity
You showed us love's pure treasure
So patient and so kind
We know now who is deaf
And who is truly blind
Yes, we know now who is deaf
And who is truly blind
"Alone we can do so little,
Together we can do so much." *
--Helen Keller
Helen Keller
National Center Helen Keller Worldwide
DEDICATED TO: Ann Sullivan Macy who, though possessing poor eyesight herself, devoted
her life to the care of Helen Keller. Behind the few truly great heroes of humanity stand
the many unsung heroes in their own right. Also dedicated to American
actress Marlee
Matlin, who no
rational being could possibly conclude is a child of a lesser God. Alone we can truly do
so little, for no man or woman is an island and truly, only a fool would think to imagine
otherwise.
*FootNote: Many 21st Century Americans are entirely unaware of the avowed, unabashed
and unapologetic radical social revolutionary that Helen Keller very much in reality,
was: "Our democracy is but a name. We vote? What does that mean? It
means that we choose between two bodies of real, though not avowed, autocrats. We choose
between Tweedledum and Tweedledee..." "...at a most critical period in the struggle of the
proletariat... What? Are we to put difference of party tactics before the desperate
needs of the workers?" "Oh, ridiculous Brooklyn Eagle [a New York newspaper]... Socially
blind and deaf, it defends an intolerable [American capitalist] system, a system that is the
cause of much of the physical blindness and deafness which we are trying to prevent... I hate the
system which it represents... If I ever contribute to the Socialist movement the book that I
sometimes dream of, I know what I shall name it: Industrial Blindness and Social
Deafness." (Quotations attributed to Helen Keller from A People's History Of The United States by Howard
Zinn.)
Due to the obvert nature of Helen Keller's physical challenges, often
overlooked is her immense contribution to the cause of social justice and Human and Civil
Rights. Helen Keller was quite radical, even by today's standards, in her consistent push
for political and social equality and reform. Due in part also to our ever-recalcitrant
American 'education' of facts without direction, her immense efforts for social justice and
equality remain lost on the consciousness of the majority of modern-day Americans. She
bravely wanted to be remembered for her positive contributions toward justice and the betterment
of humanity, rather than for her more obvious courage in the face of devastating physical
circumstances.
Perhaps one of her greatest contributions to humanity is the simple quotation
emphasized above, similar to wisdom found in Old Testament Proverbs, which
among other important observations, warns against the fallacy of remaining alone rather
than interacting within the common group of peer pressure experience. When we isolate
ourselves too much we become victims of our own blind prejudices. Both men and women truly
need association within a common group of like-minded individuals to achieve lasting and
positive political and social change, in helping others and in the necessary education and
refreshment of our own souls. This is the true theory of "church" as practiced with
extreme communism (sharing of all material wealth in common) in the New Testament,
the word "church" itself apparently deriving from a political term meaning a group of
like-minded common people united together toward a shared political and social cause; similar
in goal, to the many unionization and socialist movements prevalent throughout 19th and early
20th Century America and very, very far from the modern twisted notion of religion's
'church'.
Helen Keller is reported to have said when asked, that among three choices,
she would rather hear than either see or speak, because much of our emotional conception of
love derives from what we hear from fellow human beings, both as a child and to a lesser degree,
as we mature. Human beings truly need each other and in particular, we need to choose
close friends wisely, being friendly toward all while being candid and open among only a select
few. According to Psalm 111:10, the fear of our Creator is the beginning of
wisdom. Perhaps the second step towards achieving wisdom is to perceive the importance of
ongoing human interaction and companionship and the necessity of interdependence among the
larger common group in order to realize a significant positive and lasting
contribution. Most assuredly Jesus taught that if we do not move toward helping our
neighbor, we do not fear God and are but foolish individuals constructing inward homes on a
frivolous quicksand of fear and irrelevance. Alone, we truly can accomplish but very little, while
without the help of our Creator, we have no hope of achieving anything worthwhile at all (which
many the would-be activist has eventually figured out).
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