Fifteen-plus years ago I started working professionally as a Forrest Gump impersonator/look-alike/tribute artist. I’ve used the expression ‘gump-like’ thousands of times to describe a person, one of their attributes, or to define an interaction that occurred between myself and another.
Credit: Paramount Pictures
* Note: Inspiration for today’s post came directly from MLK’s “I Have a Dream Speech“.
Forrest Gump had many admirable and notable character traits. One of those traits was Forrest’s color blindness. By color blind, I’m not talking about his physical ability to distinguish colors or a color vision deficiency. Rather, I’m referring to his inability to see other human beings as members of a certain race, creed, or sex. Forrest seemed to see others only in terms of their humanness.
Gump-like behavior is being color blind to your fellow human beings’ race, age, sex, creed, or sexual orientation. Gump-like color blindness makes it possible to judge others solely on the content of their character.
Color blind as in all men are created equal.
Color blind as in judging only the content of another’s character.
Color blind as in joining hands as brothers.
Color blind as in working together.
Color blind as in praying together.
Color blind as in struggling together.
Color blind as in standing up for freedom together.
Forrest’s color blindness was evident in his instantaneous and enduring friendship with Bubba.
Forrest’s color blindness was shown when he sang in the church choir.
Forrest’s color blindness revealed itself by the way he treated every boy, girl, man, and woman he met throughout his entire life.
Being color blind means not judging others by their race.
Being color blind means not judging others by their age.
Being color blind means not judging others by their sex.
Being color blind means not judging others by their religious faith.
Being color blind means not judging others by their sexual orientation.
When you’re color blind, you judge others solely on the content of their character.
Being color blind is a gump-like character trait.
Are you color blind in how you judge others?
If someone said, “You are ‘gump-like’!” … would you take it as a compliment? I do.
Are you choosing to live a gump-like life?
Next Blog Title: Being Gump-like (Part 12)
Next Blog Date: January 23, 2012