A New Generation of Disabled Citizens Are Shaping the Culture

In 1990, when the Americans with Disabilities Act became law, prohibiting discrimination based on physical or mental disabilities in the workplace, in housing, and in public schools, it was met with a lot of cynicism in some quarters. To opponents it was another expensive affirmative action program that boosted the disabled at the expense of everyone else.

But in the year 2007, people with disabilities have made remarkable progress, not only improving their own lives but shaping the way non-disabled people see them. People in wheelchairs or whose limbs have been amputated participate in all kinds of sports, from basketball to Alpine skiing. Many have found their niche in the workplace, proving that they can be valuable and reliable workers.

One quantum leap in the perception of disabled people may have been ushered in with the war in Iraq. Because of the insurgents’ use of IEDs (improvised explosive devices) American soldiers, male and female, are coming home missing arms or legs. Far from giving up, many of these young people are fighting their way back to health and, thanks in large part to advances in prosthetic technology, are integrating themselves to a surprising extent back into society.

One Army Reserve pilot called to duty in Iraq, Tammy Duckworth, lost both legs when a rocket-propelled grenade hit the helicopter she was co-piloting. After a lengthy recovery she was fitted for two prosthetic legs and learned to walk with the aid of the legs and crutches. She ran for congressional office as an anti-war candidate in 2006 in the state of Illinois; she lost the race, but only by 2 percent of the vote, and proved in the process that she is one tough lady, legs or not.

As disabled Americans work to achieve and make contributions to their jobs, their families, and their communities, they will continue to shape society’s view of them. A quiet revolution is in progress, born out of a combination of advanced technologies and a lot of courage and heart.