Special Olympics founder dies
The disabled community lost a good friend when Eunice Kennedy Shriver died at the age of 88. Ms. Shriver decided to help her disabled sister which suffered from Down’s Syndrome by creating a sporting event that helps everyone. That sporting event turned into what is now well known as Special Olympics. This small sporting even set up many of the same events that we watch on TV for the olympics with the difference that everyone wins and is shown their true worth. In the 2007 games over 7,000 disabled athletes from 169 nations participated in the games. For the first time the disabled are shown to be able to do anything the able bodied can, it just takes us a little more time and effort. These events give the disabled community a chance to show the world about the disabled and what they have to deal with in regular life tasks. (Source: USA Today)
For many years "ugly" laws tried to hide the disabled by throwing them into institutions so the rest of the population didn’t need to look at them. We were nothing more than cannon fodder to be thrown aside as the rest of the nation moved ahead as the most technological nation on the planet. With the ADA, everyone in the United States had to treat the disabled the same as the able bodied, and allow them to go wherever they wanted. Neighborhoods had to allow the disabled to move in and live the American dream that everyone talked about. Ms. Kennedy-Shriver started to break down the walls that were built but the able bodied and forced them to see that we are humans like everyone else. This work moved mountains and dramatically changed what the disabled can do.
But lots of work still needs to be done. Busses and taxi drivers still refuse to take the disabled. Stores refuse to allow the disabled in or refuse to service them when they get to the register to pay. Restaurants throw out the disabled that come in with a service dog, who allows them to get around and pick things up that they drop. Police have been videoed dragging the disabled out of their wheelchair onto the floor after begging the officers not to hurt them.
Give a few moments to think about Eunice Kennedy Shriver and what she did to smash down the barriers that existed some 30 years ago. She blazed a trail that we use everyday to get to the grocery store or look around the aquarium in downtown Atlanta.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Loading ...
User Comments
No comments yet.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.