On Jan. 23, 1952, just outside of Oxford in England, a burglar broke into a home finding two men in a homosexual act. The investigation was swift and instead of prosecuting the burglar, the two men were prosecuted for indecency because homosexuality was a crime at that time.

They were convicted on March 31 of that year and were sentenced to chemical castration. On June 8, 1954, one of the men was found dead by suicide.

The media was quick to throw this certain individual under the bus, but at the same time, they knew so little about him.

No one knew this person. He was a man living in solitude, working on his passions. When he was found, the investigators got a chance to look at his talents. As they were taking his lifeless body away, staring them in the face was the very first digital computer.

The story of Alan Turing is one of greatness, and at the same time, terrible tragedy.

When he was young, words of wisdom from his childhood friend Chris kept him going. He told him, “Those who are different have the ability to make all the difference.” We are so willing to follow the masses that we don’t ever take the time to follow our own hearts.

Nothing has changed today. I can think of two individuals and an entire group of people the media have thrown under the bus: former Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools Superintendent Heath Morrison, former Chairmen of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke and porn stars.

But I submit to you that have I met all three, and how they are portrayed does not accurately represent who they are.

Morrison I first met at temple. I talked to him for five minutes and explained to him what I felt needed to be done. I told him it’s so very important that we teach our children how to think, not what to think. He looked at me, smiled and said, “That is exactly what I mean to do.” He was sincere and loved his new job. He wasn’t the man the media made him out to be.

Coverage of Ben Bernanke is just one example of how the media spins stories. Photo courtesy of Tribune News Service

The very next day I got a chance to meet Bernanke. I wanted to approach him and congratulate him on his granddaughter’s bat mitzvah, but as got closer, I saw his face; he was tired and didn’t want to talk to anyone.

He soon retired and fell out of the limelight, but he also lost his father around the same time. There was more to this man than just being a banker for the largest bank in the world. He was a man as well as a grandfather.

Another time, I got a chance to meet a girl. She immediately stuck out to me because she was different, and I liked different. I approached her like I would anyone else, with the understanding that she was a human being, and as human beings, we are each unique and have a story to tell. I explained to her that I felt I could be closer to her than anyone at this school because she had the mind to come to temple. She laughed and said, “That is the sweetest thing I have heard.”

I wanted to spend more time with her and get to know her, but it wasn’t meant to be. One day she stopped coming, and it broke my heart. It didn’t matter who she was or who she had been – to me, she was a friend.

In the eyes of God, we all have a story to tell. None of us are strangers, and we are all his children. This is what I sincerely believe, and I am willing to commit my own life to it.