A personal view on Ben Carson’s story. Film "Gifted Hands"

A personal view on Ben Carson’s story.

By Jose Atencio

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that”. The previous quote belongs to Dr. Martin Luther King, an outstanding personality who became famous in the ‘60s. He took direct action for peace and tolerance among American people, between colored and white people, during a time of hate, during a time of racism, during a time of violence. And what he did was to share his dream with all his brothers, using the most powerful weapons: words and speeches; and using the most effective ammunitions: tolerance and peace; and taking advantage of the greatest resources: love and faith. During the times of Dr. King, there were also other outstanding colored men who made history in other fields, such as medicine, and using the same weapons, the same ammunitions, the same resources. I will tell you the story of Dr. Ben Carson.

Benjamin Solomon "Ben" Carson lived in a small flat with his mother and brother. His father had abandoned them, leaving only a house as heritage. Ben’s mother put that house for rent in order to have spare money for savings. She used to work hard to give her children a proper education and a comfortable life.

At first, Ben and his brother did not do very well at school, and they would spend many hours watching television. His mother was very concerned about her children’s future and paid a lot of attention to her children’s attitudes and behavior. She used her savings to buy Ben a pair of glasses as soon as she had noticed that the boy was shortsighted. She was always encouraging her sons to be brave, to believe in themselves, to dream and to use their imagination. They would attend to a local church every week, and they would listen to the preacher’s speeches very carefully. That’s how the little Ben could realize that he was able to use his imagination and he became aware of the power of his mind. Ben’s mother started to work as a cleaning lady for a very clever and literate professor, who had a huge personal library. She admired her new boss a lot, and after a while, she realized that this man had become clever after reading books, instead of watching television. As soon as she had arrived home, she ordered her sons to turn off the t.v. and to start reading books. After a while, Ben and his brother improved at school and began to success among their white and better-off classmates.

Ben’s mother was not a happy woman. She used to struggle every day to get money to buy things, and she was also an ill person. She decided on her own to be treated in a mental institution, because she did not want to become completely mad.

Ben became very fond of classical music, arts and science. At school, he could discover new worlds, such as microbiology. Time went by, and his mother decided to move their family to his former house, the one she had rented for extra income. The children started to attend to a new and better secondary school. However, Ben received bad influence from other students and turned out to become a rebellious and violent teenager. On one day, he behaved bad and used violence against other students. Then he felt ashamed and fearful. As soon as he had arrived home, he started to pray and to read the Bible. That was a turning point in his life…

Ben applied to one of the best universities in the USA to become a doctor: Yale University. He could attend to such a prestigious college after getting a scholarship. He met his girlfriend there, who would later become his wife. He studied hard and he tried to be a self-taught pupil, because he was not keen on attending classes. He was so brilliant that he could finish university with acknowledgments. As he wanted to be a neurosurgeon, he applied to become a trainee in one of the most prestigious hospitals: the Hopkins. There were a hundred and fifty applicants for only two positions. He could persuade the hospital’s director to accept him during the interview, after telling him that he conceived the human brain as a true miracle and something worth studying and working for. Ben cited the case of Handel who could create the marvelous symphony “The Messiah” in only two weeks.

At first, things worked as always: he was rejected and treated badly by the staff of the hospital, as he was the only colored doctor working there. But he could overcome those situations with respect and self-confidence. He would work for hours and hours, and he would study a lot during his free time. He would face every challenge with determination, and he also managed to take risks and to be successful. For instance, he decided to operate an injured man who had had an accident, and he did so without authorization. But he did so well, that afterwards he was congratulated by the senior doctors. He also performed an operation on a little girl, extracting a piece of her brain, also succeeding.

Another outstanding event in his career was the operation of a pair of baby German twins whose bodies were attached through their brains. This operation was successful and made Dr. Carson famous worldwide. He could work out a solution for this complex operation after reading and studying a lot. He focused and thought a lot about this case, always praying to God for the solution.

Ben Carson has been taken as an inspiring example of tolerance and how a person can change negative circumstances into better things; a person who has taken risks and worked hard for other human beings. Ben Carson is considered an outstanding example of resilience and a living example of determination and hard-working people. In few words: a hero of love.

July 24th, 2014.