Society is Dependent on Diversity

Sir Ken Robinson died on 21st of August 2020 and he was one of my first ever heroes... I wanted to share this quote with you in the hopes that you will redefine your definitions of ability and intelligence.

Human communities depend upon a diversity of talent, not a singular conception of ability. And at the heart of the challenge is to reconstitute our sense of ability and intelligence.

Sir Ken Robinson

Ken Robinson made me think about a perspective that is all too common right now- the concept that disabled people are disposable. Worth less. That dying from covid if you are vulnerable is simply natural selection. Survival of the fittest. Recently, eugenics has become a totally acceptable argument for why we don’t need to wear masks, stay home, or distance- because disabled people don’t matter! To say that disabled people are a ‘drain on society’ or resources or taxpayers or whatever else is to say that the success of society is measured by money. In actual fact, the word ‘society’ comes from the Latin socius (companion) and was first found in English in the mid-16th century meaning ‘companionship, friendly association with others.’ Society is thus defined by relationships. Just as everything in life is, really. A plant's relationship with the sun is essential for its survival. Our relationships with each other is vital for our own wellbeing, as lockdown has taught us all too well. 

Therefore, not only is this idea that disabled people are less productive, less capable or less worthy fundamentally untrue, it would also mean that every single one of us is a drain on society. Is a pregnant woman on maternity leave a drain on society because she has stopped working? Absolutely not. What about those who are battling cancer or depression? Both disabling illnesses but not the people you would immediately consider when you hear the term ‘disabled people’. Our capability to love makes us all inherently valuable. Worth is not something you earn or something that can be taken away. We, as disabled people, are no more a drain than anybody else. Given the right access and accommodation, given a society that did not disable us- the empathy, work ethic and fire we possess from being oppressed is one of the most valuable resources on earth! 

We are society, so whatever we don't like about it, we have the power to change. Diversity. Society depends upon it, depends upon us.