The Blind Side
Tonight my family and I went to see the movie "The Blind Side." What a lovely story with a timeless message. There were many moments when I found myself biting my lip and holding back tears; tears of joy, pain, and every emotion in between. I was most struck by how the Tuohy family met Micheal Oher and began their unusual family journey. Some may believe that Mrs. Tuohy was a philanthropist that scoured the city's underprivileged areas looking for "needy" youths to help. In reality she drove past a sight that was so unusual it made forced her to take a second look. That picture was an extremely large black young man walking along the side of a road of her upper middle class community, on a cold, rainy night. Her first step was to stop her car and ask the young man where he was going. When her told her the gym - she turned her car and headed off in the opposite direction. Problem was that the answer didn't "feel" correct. The second choice she made was not to accept an answer at face value - that she knew to be incorrect. She didn't accept an untruth. When she returned to clarify and tell Micheal she knew that the gym was closed - he admitted he had no where to go.
I believe that any compassionate human being would have done the same and asked the homeless young man to come to their home and stay the night, what set Leanne Tuohy apart was that she made it to the place where she could offer him a place to stay. Most of us would have passed the boy walking down the street and ignored the uncomfortable feelings that accompanied the visual picture. The few of us that would have stopped and asked where he was walking - would surely have never questioned the answer. To do so - would be to commit yourself to take action.
The ensuing "good deeds" that follow the first night of safe place to sleep, are not unusual. People are good - and when faced with the oppurtunity to help a fellow human in need - they are invariably generous. The thing that makes this movie amazing, is the obedience that all of the people involved show to ignoring the easy route. They repeatedly choose to believe the uncomfortable truth over false peace. It is a quality that is rare in human beings. We desire comfort, peace and the path of less resistance. There is nothing wrong with this instinct - it has allowed humans to become the survivors of the fittes
I believe that any compassionate human being would have done the same and asked the homeless young man to come to their home and stay the night, what set Leanne Tuohy apart was that she made it to the place where she could offer him a place to stay. Most of us would have passed the boy walking down the street and ignored the uncomfortable feelings that accompanied the visual picture. The few of us that would have stopped and asked where he was walking - would surely have never questioned the answer. To do so - would be to commit yourself to take action.
The ensuing "good deeds" that follow the first night of safe place to sleep, are not unusual. People are good - and when faced with the oppurtunity to help a fellow human in need - they are invariably generous. The thing that makes this movie amazing, is the obedience that all of the people involved show to ignoring the easy route. They repeatedly choose to believe the uncomfortable truth over false peace. It is a quality that is rare in human beings. We desire comfort, peace and the path of less resistance. There is nothing wrong with this instinct - it has allowed humans to become the survivors of the fittes
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