Clash of Culture

            A key aspect of both the movie and the focus of each side's argument was the idea of culture and how to define it. The deaf family insisted that their is a distinct "deaf culture," and it would be detrimental to take remove a child from that culture by implanting a cochlear implant. The hearing family countered that by keeping their child deaf, they were limiting his/her ability to get involved with the culture of hearing people. I'm inclined to agree with the latter opinion.
            Throughout the movie, I tried to keep an open mind, knowing that my own discourse would provide me with an immediate bias. However, even my open mind could see that the deaf family was hurting, not helping, their child by preventing her from receiving the cochlear implant. I for one don't much see the difference between the culture of hearing people and that of deaf people. Both groups go through mostly the same experiences, but they just have different ways of communicating. With a cochlear implant, the child would be able to participate in both means of communicating, and it's as simple as that. It's as if the child had an opportunity to learn both English and another foreign language like French or Spanish, and their parent prevented her from learning the foreign language and therefore from gaining its cultural values. Wouldn't you want your child to be enriched by both cultures? The same applies in this scenario.
            By limiting (and that's exactly what it is: LIMITING) their child to only "deaf culture," Heather's parents are restricting her to a smaller pool of choices and experiences. Sure any deaf person can be succesful, and sure a deaf person can be happy, but with a cochlear implant both these things would be simpler, and there's no denying this. Heather's parents both admit that they struggled growing up, and Heather's dad admits that he can get no higher on the coorperate latter. Why would they want to put their ownn child through the same obstacles and limitations? It just doesn't make sense. As parents, it is their responsibility to give their child the best life they can. It may be difficult to raise a child to experience both cultures, but as parents it is their duty to try their best. And shouldn't they place this burden on themselves rather than forcing the burden upon their child?