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Today is March 21, also World Down Syndrome Day. I’ve written about World Down Syndrome Day before, in 2013, 2012, 2011 and my personal favorite 2009. They’re all worth a read but if you could only read one I’d probably say it should be 2009. The United Nations General Assembly officially declared March 21 as World Down Syndrome Day back in 2011, even though people had already been observing it for a few years before that. World Down Syndrome Day is recognized on this day because being the twenty-first day of the third month, it is symbolic of a third copy of the twenty first chromosome, or Down syndrome. Some of the goals of the day are to raise awareness, to educate, to promote acceptance, and to promote inclusion.

You’ve probably noticed that google changes it’s little doodle thingey all the time. Yesterday it was an animation of watering a stick flower for the first day of spring. A number of people requested Google use an image for today’s doodle, for World Down Syndrome Day. It looks like this.

I don’t know how many asked. I do know that this is not the first year they’ve asked. I logged in this morning and hit Google. Didn’t see the image. As Google they could make such an impact just by putting that doodle up for one day. How could they make an impact? Because it would get people looking at it and wondering about what it stood for. That’s where the awareness comes in. As with any other cause, not everyone would jump on board, obviously. But more people would be aware. But yet again, Google chose not to use the doodle. It’s their choice to publish doodles on random days with no meaning, and yet ignore an important socially relevant cause involving real people. It leaves me disgusted, but that’s a feeling I’ve grown accustomed to in my quest for “Something Beautiful”.

“Something Beautiful” is the name of a song. These are the lyrics.

Tell me what hurts the most,
Where you feel it in your bones.
Is this how you pictured yourself?
Do you feel like a ghost?
Half alive and so unknown?
Is this how you run from yourself?
And the undertow rushes in,
Pulls you out, pulls you in.
Spinning you all around,
Spinning you upside down.
And you don’t know which way is up,
And will this ever be enough
To make you whole, to fill your soul,
When all you want is
Something beautiful
That they can’t take away,
That no one can ever touch,
And nothing can replace.
Something beautiful
That you can call your own.
When the world shows its ugly side
All you want is something beautiful.
Something beautiful.
Can you touch the way you feel,
Or does it only fade to gray?
Is this how you cripple yourself?
And when the sky is caving in,
Crashing down from within,
Is this how you, you lose yourself?
Because you don’t know which way is up,
And will this ever be enough
To make you whole, to fill your soul,
When all we want is
Something beautiful
That they can’t take away,
That no one can ever touch,
And nothing can replace.
Something beautiful
That you can call your own.
When the world shows its ugly side
All you want is something beautiful.
Something beautiful.
Some things will never, will never, will never change
Some things will never, will never, will never change
Will never change
Unless you believe in
Something beautiful
Something beautiful
When all you want is
Something beautiful
That they can’t take away,
That no one can ever touch,
And nothing can replace.
Something beautiful
That you can call your own.
When the world shows its ugly side
All you want is something beautiful.
Something beautiful.

Something Beautiful is also what what I envision life and society should be. It’s a vision that I advocate for on a daily basis. Something Beautiful is a world that is better place for people with with Down syndrome like my son.

It’s a world where my son won’t be judged by how he looks or what his abilities.

It’s a world where people won’t stare because he looks different.

It’s a world where kids won’t literally turn their back and ignore my son when he tries to talk to them because they don’t understand what he’s saying.

It’s a world where the parents of those children will teach their children that everyone deserves to be treated with respect and as a human being.

It’s a world where people won’t presume he has no feelings.

It’s a world where people will recognize that individuals with Down syndrome have potential and can do many things.

It’s a world where my son won’t sit in a doorway watching other kids outside playing, surely wishing he was out there too.

It’s a world where people are accepting of others that are different.

It’s a world where people don’t sling the word retarded around casually, without care that they aren’t using it correctly and that they are hurting others by using it that way.

It’s a world where my son and others with Down syndrome will be treated like people, not like a condition. My son is a person, he is not his diagnosis.

If society ever gets to the point where it’s anything like what I envision and fight for, it will surely be Something Beautiful. For us to get there, awareness must be raised. Standing up for beliefs must occur. Voices must be raised before they can be heard. Everyone can make a difference. Yes, everyone. Wondering how you can make a difference? It’s easy. Two steps.

1. Learn more about Down syndrome.
2. Share what you learn.

Not a single day goes by that I don’t listen to this song. Not a single one. It’s become a mantra of sorts for me.

For me, and families within the Down syndrome community, every day is World Down Syndrome Day. Every day I fight for my son. It’s a tough fight. It can be emotionally bloody and it can hurt like hell. But I will never let it break me. I won’t let up until I’m dead or until we achieve Something Beautiful.

I leave you with the acoustic version of Something Beautiful, with the permission of the band Oleander.

A big thank you to Oleander, for graciously giving me permission to use this song in my post. And for always making amazing and relevant music. Something Beautiful is available on the Oleander website and iTunes. I make no money if you purchase it, by the way, I share it because it’s awesome and it has incredible meaning.

If you’re still here, I saw an awesome videos for World Down Syndrome Day that I want to share.