Forrest Gump -- Living Unhindered

Most people never figure out how to live free. We learn at a young age to be enslaved to other people's opinions.

People's reactions to Forrest Gump range from one extreme to the other: They are either talking down to him about his mental shortcomings, or they are praising him for his inspirational quality of life. This is a realistic portrayal of people's natural shortsightedness... average people would deride someone like Gump for what they perceive to be a flaw while they fail to recognize that his "flaw" helps him to live life to the fullest.

Gump is blessed with the inability to acknowledge people's cynicism, therefore he lives without the hindrances that plague average people.