Pictured: Anne Bancroft holding Patty Duke’s hand in a scene from the film ‘The Miracle Worker’, 1962. (Photo by United Artists/Getty Images)

After reading Mr. Kadish’s fine article below, and perhaps finding and viewing the 1962 film, “The Miracle Worker,” I would suggest something even more powerful to reveal the human spirit in diverse and adverse circumstances and conditions, and the great power available to every person on earth to turn to, pull from, learn from, grow from in every circumstance and situation in this life.

The Greatest Source of Life-Giving, Making the Blind to See Inspiration…

God’s Word. The Holy Bible.

The REAL miracle at work is God’s free gift of grace, forgiveness, and salvation for our faith and obedience to His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to us sinners when what we deserve is nothing but wrath and condemnation.

God’s Word, the book wherein every person who is blind — that is everyone ever born who refuses to turn to God, to believe, to submit, to confess, to be born anew and transformed by the power of the Spirit of God — can come out of their being darkness, in darkness, and finally, truly see!

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

John 3:36

Ken Pullen, A CROOKED PATH, Wednesday, July 5th, 2023

The Miracle Worker

There is a generation that views the loss of Wi-Fi as a calamity, a cold latte worthy of scorn, and a five-day work week as a curious relic from a distant past. Sad but true, they have no sense of real life challenges that have been confronted and mastered by those whose spirit, ethics, and indomitable strength remain unimaginable to the rest of us.

One of the most courageous Americans was Helen Keller. Blind and deaf since infancy due to scarlet fever, she angrily lived in a world of total silence and darkness until her parents received a visiting angel, Anne Sullivan. Visually impaired herself, she was able to break through to Helen by teaching her sign language that eventually revealed Helen’s intellect, curiosity, and humanity.

This story was the subject of a 1962 film, the Oscar award-winning “The Miracle Worker.” A young Patty Duke played Helen Keller and Anne Bancroft her teacher, mentor, and guide to a world beyond darkness and silence. Their performances captured the terror of Helen Keller’s disabilities and the breakthrough that reminded the world that everyone has worth, no matter the disability.

Historians of popular culture note, “The film was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Director for Arthur Penn, and won two awards, Best Actress for Anne Bancroft and Best Supporting Actress for Patty Duke, the latter of whom, at age 16, became the youngest competitive Oscar winner at the time.”

Not surprising, it is also among the films listed as “America’s most inspiring movies.”

I strongly recommend you find it on your local cable channel that features classic movies. You will discover it to be a riveting one hour and 43 minutes that reveals how two people created a miracle, putting our own personal challenges in powerful perspective.

Lawrence Kadish serves on the Board of Governors of Gatestone Institute.