FREE ESSAY ON MY WORDS ABOUT LIFE

MY WORDS ABOUT LIFE

Joey Bur*censored*
English 1A
March 18, 2001
I can't hear you
Cars race by as you impatiently stand on the corner waiting for the crosswalk sign to
turn green. A young man walks up and stands adjacent to you. He glances your direction
and gives a friendly smile; being kind you do the same. After what seems like an eternity
the little green person in the crosswalk sign begins to blink. As you begin to take your
first step off of the curb you hear a frantic honking coming from across the street.
Looking up you realize that a truck has just run a red light and is headed directly at
you. You quickly react and leap back onto the safety of the curb, but in the same moment
you realize that the young man next to you is still casually strolling through the
crosswalk. You shout franticly to ward him of the oncoming danger but he seems oblivious
to your cries. The speeding truck is now within fifteen feet of the crosswalk and still
blaring his horn, but the man still does not notice the mortal danger he is in. He jumps
back in terror as the truck comes into his view. At the last moment the driver of the
speeding truck swerves and narrowly misses the man. You rush out into the crosswalk and
bellow, "What's wrong with you man! Are you deaf?" The frightened man nods his head and
answers, "yes."
Deafness is a disability that affects millions of people throughout the world. It has no
bias towards race, age, sex or religion. This disability already impairs many people
through out the world and one day it could affect even you.
A few people afflicted with deafness are born with it, the majority of individuals become
deaf at some point in their life. Infections in the ear and sudden or constant loud noise
are just a few causes of deafness. A gunshot or other loud sound could cause a person to
instantly become deaf. Exposure to constant loud sounds such as music or machines can
easily lead to deafness in later life.
There is often prejudice towards people with disabilities. People that are born deaf have
never heard any sound including speech; therefore they themselves cannot learn the sounds
that are required to produce speech. A deaf and mute person would encounter
discrimination throughout their lives. It would be extremely difficult to communicate
with other people or get a job. Because of this they would be thought of as stupid or
helpless. The truth is that someone who is deaf is just as smart or smarter than the
average person. They have the ability to read and learn new things just as well as a
normal person. 
The primary way of communication for the deaf is sign language. With the use of hand
gestures deaf can communicate just as easily as using speech. Sign language helps break
down the communication barrier between friends and family of a deaf person. Many
considerations have been made in recent years to benefit the deaf. Most televisions come
equipped with closed captioning. Deaf individuals are able to watch their favorite sitcom
or keep track of the news with this new technology. 
Although we have come a long way with technology for the disabled common sense would be
the greatest advantage to avoid becoming deaf. Anytime you are around loud noise wear ear
protection. Thousands of people would still have the ability to hear if they had used
earplugs while working or listening to music.