What is Perfection?

When I first read "Deaf by Design", my immediate thought was that being deaf was a disability, and it was completely unethical of the parents in the article to enforce deafness upon their child. This is because a majority of the world has the capability to hear, and therefore, the child would have a disadvantage over the others.
However, after watching the video "Sound and Fury", and really getting to understand more about Heather's parents along with their deaf community, I realized that perhaps it was me who has been unethical about the whole topic. Even though the word "disability" may have a by-the-book defintion, it can still be perceived differently by different people. That doesn't mean one person is more right than the other though. "One man's trash is another man's treasure". We are all entitled to our own opinions and beliefs. To the deaf community, deafness is not viewed as a disability, but rather, as a blessing. They see it as a means to preserve their deaf culture.
Disabilities are anything that gives you a disadvantage over others. However, what is seen as a disadvantage or advantage can only be determined by its survival in a given environment, as explained by Darwin in his theory of natural selection. Since the environment is constantly undergoing change, then the image we paint in our heads of "disabilities" should change as well. In Heather's case, she lives in an environment where deafness plays a huge role in her life. Her parents take pride in being deaf, and teach their children to sign, while Heather is always being exposed to the deaf community. In this environment, deafness to Heather, would not be a disadvantage. If Heather were deaf, then she would fit into her community, and be accepted amongst her friends and parents.  In fact, it would probably be more of a disadvantage if Heather was not deaf, since she would feel shut out of the society that her parents value so much, and would not understand or sympathize with her parents on their beliefs. For Heather to ensure her best survival in her own environment, it is better for her to remain deaf.
It is unfortunate that just because a majority of the society has a certain image of "perfection" that it automatically makes people think it is the "right" image. Although, just because it is the belief of the majority, does not necessarily indicate that it is the right belief. Therefore, if  we were to follow that logic, then deaf people aborting what the majority of society considers a "normal" child is not the wrong thing to do. It is just viewed as immoral by the majority of others because they live in an environment where it is more beneficial for a child to have hearing. Everyone has a right to their own opinion, and no one's opinion is ever really wrong if there is proper reasoning behind their thinking, and thus, deaf people have every right to abort a child who has normal hearing because in their minds, a deaf child is advantageous over a child who can hear.
Nevertheless, this whole controversy was brought to light was because of the ability to alter our genetic codes. Having the ability to alter our genetic codes is an amazing advancement in our society, but it doesn't come without consequences as well. Just as with every gift, comes a curse, altering genetic codes can easily be abused by the parents who hope for a "perfect" baby. Not only does this mold our society into something artificial and shallow, but it decreases the chance for genetic variation. When the genetic variety in our community decreases, we are more in danger of becoming extinct if there was a severe change to the environment. Even though the idea of altering genetic codes started off with good intentions, it became too easily abused, and thus, becoming more and more of a curse.

In summary, perfection is definitely in the eye of the beholder. We have become too corrupted by present day media as to what is "ideal beauty". This article has opened both our minds, and our hearts into accepted different kinds of beauty, and different ideals of what perfection is. Thus, from this, we can conclude that everyone is perfect, and everyone is beautiful :)!