Last weekend while searching for new programs to watch on Disney’s streaming platform, I happened on an animated short that centers on a boy in canoe camp who is forced to row with a non-vocal autistic girl. The struggle to communicate served as the ultimate theme for the feature. In order for them to reach their goal, the boy has to improvise new ways to communicate with the girl, and in doing so, he makes an unlikely friend.
This show sent me off on tangent after tangent of thought, which has taken this long to organize into something halfway readable.
The news in the past few weeks, stressful as it may be, can be used as an educational device. Increasingly, Americans tend to speak at one another rather than with one another. The true purpose of communication is to learn and share new ideas that are important to us. When we fail at that fundamental truth, we fall into a trap where we only accept the voices of those with whom we agree and disregard all others. This neither teaches us new methods of thought nor adequately gets our opinions across.
We have a severe communication breakdown in this nation, and it is affecting everything from political realities to public health.
I can successfully relate to both main characters in the aforementioned film because I have been on both ends—frustrated with attempting to effectively communicate with others due to differences in language, nationality, and experience. Yet I have for so long taken on the role of misunderstood. How do we bridge that divide?
Perhaps the divide exists only in the mental realm. I firmly believe that, to some extent, the so-called language barrier is nothing more than an imaginary obstacle with which we choose to separate ourselves.
Inspirational author Shannon L. Alder opined that “One of the most important things you can do on this earth is to let people know they are not alone.”
Those we try to communicate with can quickly become alienated if we fail to understand the natural differences and find commonality.
Opinion is one thing which we are all blessed with, and each of us has his or her own. Taking that truth into this Thanksgiving week may lead to more pleasant experiences, especially as we isolate ourselves from family and friends. This year, let them know they are not alone by being thoughtful.
America is better off when we invite more voices to the table rather than fewer. The most trying problems we face can only be solved by offering a diversity of solutions. We too often tend to divide on ideological differences, pushing every societal issue into neat little -ism boxes. To get over this, it is imperative that we reach outside our comfort zones. To quote Ferris Bueller, “…a person shouldn’t believe in an –ism, he should believe in himself.”
Creativity in problem solving comes through mutual understanding and a range of viewpoints, never from the starkly binary delusion of “us versus them.”
“Diversity and inclusion, which are the real grounds for creativity, must remain at the center of what we do,” offered Gucci CEO Marco Bizzarri.
When communication breaks down, we need not throw mindless memes, fanatical clichés, food or fists. We must look inside ourselves and find something in common with those to whom we wish to communicate.
The Disney feature I talked about spurred copious thought, which was probably the creator’s true intent. Who says you don’t learn anything from television?
I fervently hope that this holiday season, we can set aside the myriad differences we use to separate ourselves and work toward mutual understanding through open, honest dialogue. When we approach with open minds, there isn’t much we cannot accomplish.
If you have a Disney+ account, I recommend watching the ten-minute film for yourself by scrolling or searching for “Looped.”