July 26 marked the 18th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) was a principal sponsor of this 1990 bill, and Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) has been recognized as a champion of the rights of disabled Americans. In recent comments Senators John McCain and Barack Obama are in agreement with Harkin that the Supreme Court has incorrectly narrowed the protection intended by the 1990 ADA. Each will press for a clearer law in 2009.
In a video that Senator Harkin posted on YouTube in 2007 you can watch him explain the reasoning behind the ADA and how the Supreme Court has altered the intent of the law by its interpretations. He begins by discussing the four pillars of the law – that people with disabilities could have
- full participation in our society
- equal opportunity
- independent living and
- economic self-sufficiency.
In May 2008 I went to SOBCON in Chicago where the Purple Wren
and I met the woman who writes A Deaf Mom Shares Her World. We all had dinner at Greek Islands Restaurant. (Mm-boy, but that’s another story.) Karen (DeafMom) works hard to achieve full participation, equal opportunity, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency. She does her part and asks for little.
If you wonder if everyone embraces the spirit or the letter of the law called ADA, you can read an account of DeafMom’s experiences at Steak ‘n Shake - an account that I find disturbing. Read it and listen to the linked videos. I don’t think she asked for much of an accommodation. Would she have been treated the same way in Des Moines? I don’t think so. Do you know?
Will our returning veterans receive appropriate accommodation? I watched Hidden Wounds of War, a special video report, on WHO-TV last week – 7 or 8 minutes without interruption, very powerful. It captured the nature of traumatic brain injury of local Guardsman Cindy Robison. TBI is now called the singular injury of the Iraq War. Read more about mild and severe TBI in the New England Journal of Medicine, Discover magazine, or in USA Today. Other veterans are returning with limb and back injuries.
No matter what we might think of the nature or severity of anyone’s disability, I think that the four pillars of ADA should be respected, that our current law be enforced, and that the four pillars of the original law be upheld as Congress reexamines it. What about you?
photo by flickr by soldiersmediacenter.
Guest Writer: James G. Lindberg (Jim) is the Purple Wren’s sweetie and is a visiting chemistry professor at Grinnell College and retired from Drake University.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi James! I can still remember that dinner at the Greek Island! Thanks for your support on this issue.
My heart goes out to the many vets that are returning with disabilities.
James,
I still remember that delightful dinner!
It is frustrating for people with disabilities to have to fight for equal rights to access things that others take for granted. My heart goes out to the vets who return with disabilities.
Thank you for spotlighting this issue and I appreciate your support.
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