暫定的健常者 TEMPORARY ABLE-BODIED

暫定的健常者
　半分水が入っているコップを見て、楽観主義者は「まだ半分ある」と思い、悲観主義者は「もう半分しかない」と思うそうだ▼英語にフィジカリー　チャレンジドという言い回しがある。「身体的に挑戦されている」という意味だ。足が不自由な人は、足がその人に対して「俺と勝負しようじゃないか。俺に勝てるか」と挑みかかっている。その人は「お前なんかに負けてたまるか（「天声新語」応募作品につき、以下読みたい方は、mhiroshi62@yahoo.co.jpまでメールを下さい。）


　　　　　　　　　　TEMPORARY ABLE-BODIED

　　Looking at a glass which is half full of water, an opportunist says, “The glass is half full” and the pessimist says, “The glass is half empty.”
　　There is an English expression: “physically challenged.” It stirs my imagination. One's crippled leg challenges one saying, “Can you compete with me? I don’t think you will win.” One shoots back, “All right. I accept your challenge. I do not mind my limping. I will overcome the disability.”
　　Compared with the expression, "physically challenged," I deplore the insensitive Japanese expression "shintai-shogai-sha," which is literally translated into “physically obstructed and harmed person.” What a cruel expression! No one wanted to be born this way. Recently, since the word “gai” (obstruct) gives a negative image, they write “gai” not in hieroglyphic Chinese character (害), but in phonetic character of hiragana (がい), which gives a soft and graceful impression. Such a cheap trick, however, shows the arrogance of an able-bodied person.
　　Concerning “able-bodied,” there is an eye-opening expression in English: “temporary able-bodied.” It means that since an able-bodied person might lose his leg in a traffic accident the next day, he is ‘temporarily’ able-bodied. He should be careful not to be too complacent.
　　Of course, however differently you may describe the same phenomenon, the essence does not change, but a different description may give you a totally different view of the world. I want to live my life with a glass-half-full approach free from stereotypes and with flexible viewpoints.