[Blindtlk] why is it important to join an organization of theblind?

[Ray Foret Jr]

With respect, Garry, I must say that I find nothing at all preachy about your reasons why you are a federationist.  this, mind you, is coming from a fellow who is proud of his lack of diplomacy.  Preachy?  I think not sir, not a bit at all.


Sincerely,
The Constantly Barefooted Ray!!!

Now a very proud and happy Mac user!!!

Skype name:
barefootedray

Facebook:
facebook.com/ray.foretjr.1



On Jan 17, 2012, at 2:48 PM, Gary Wunder wrote:

> I didn't write it for that purpose, but we might consider it if it is
> helpful. If it is only preachy, if it is only a put down, then it has no
> business there. If it really helps people see why they should consider
> joining or strengthens their commitment, then I'll think about putting it
> with other thoughts and seeing if we can cobble together an article.
> 
> Warmly,
> 
> Gary
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Ray Foret Jr
> Sent: Tuesday, January 17, 2012 2:15 PM
> To: gwunder at earthlink.net; Blind Talk Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] why is it important to join an organization of
> theblind?
> 
> Gary, I tell you truthfully, I sense the germination of a Monitor artocle in
> this.
> 
> 
> Sincerely,
> The Constantly Barefooted Ray!!!
> 
> Now a very proud and happy Mac user!!!
> 
> Skype name:
> barefootedray
> 
> Facebook:
> facebook.com/ray.foretjr.1
> 
> 
> 
> On Jan 17, 2012, at 11:34 AM, Gary Wunder wrote:
> 
>> Dear Chris:
>> 
>> Please understand that what I am about to write is my opinion and not some
>> official position of the Federation. I will try to avoid offering other
>> disclaimers such as "In my opinion," or "It is my belief." I want to be
> firm
>> in stating what I believe but humble enough to acknowledge that does not
>> represent any particular wisdom or any claim to be the one true way.
>> 
>> I am a member of the National Federation of the Blind because I believe
> that
>> collective action is required if blind people are to continue to enjoy the
>> programs and services we now have and to further the goal of integration
> we
>> all seek where we gain jobs, play active parts in our community, and are
> no
>> longer limited by artificial barriers that are not imposed by blindness
> but
>> by the reaction to it by blind and sighted people alike. As an individual
> I
>> have a responsibility to think about my options and opportunities and to
>> decide whether or not to pursue or shy away from them; In other words, I
>> have choices to make. But individually I do not always have the
> creativity,
>> the expertise, and the power to make those choices real and achievable.
>> 
>> Right now blind people are engaged in the battle to determine whether we
>> have a right to demand that computerized technology, with all its power
> and
>> promise, be harnessed to help us as it helps others, or whether, because
> we
>> are a small population, this same computer technology will be used to
>> exclude us. The outcome of this struggle is as important as my ability to
>> compete at a job, my ability to enjoy entertainment at home, my ability to
>> check in at airports and check out at supermarkets, and even my ability to
>> live at home independently. Take away my independent access to home
>> appliances--my ability to set the temperature on my oven, regulate the
>> temperature in my house, and operate the controls on my washer and dryer,
>> and soon I will require the services of a personal care attendant or be in
> a
>> nursing home because I will be unable to take care of my most basic needs.
>> Even the option of a home care attendant or a nursing home may depend on
>> whether or not I can afford them. 
>> 
>> My job as one human being is to educate myself; my more difficult job is
> to
>> embrace the education of society to the potential technology brings and to
>> the problems it can create if not properly managed. Individually I must be
>> an informed voice, but only collectively do I have a voice capable of
>> reaching the nation and the world. Individually I do not know how to bring
>> about the changes in design and engineering that make things talk, produce
>> braille, or provide a way for me to navigate using touch or voice;
>> collectively I can be a part of giving scholarships to young people, some
> of
>> whom will dedicate their professional careers to learning about such
> things
>> and being a part of developing technology that includes me and others who
>> are blind. Individually I do not know how to craft laws to help us, but
>> collectively I can help to grow and employ the expertise of those who do.
>> Individually I do not know how to execute a successful lawsuit on behalf
> of
>> myself and others who suffer from technological discrimination;
> collectively
>> I can be a part of hiring that help and articulating to the legal system
> the
>> goals and aspirations of blind people who are committed to the forward
>> progress we have enjoyed and to categorically reject the idea of once
> again
>> being consigned to idleness and inactivity. 
>> 
>> It is argued that sighted people do not unite as a group, and that, if
> blind
>> people truly want equality, we must turn away from the reliance on a group
>> and the expectation other blind people will join with us. Because of their
>> numbers and a society which will quite reasonably be oriented to them,
>> sighted people have no need to unite on the basis of sight. They do,
>> however, unite for other reasons. Wealthy people unite with others to see
>> that policies do not encourage and support the taking of their wealth.
> Those
>> less wealthy unite for a whole host of reasons when individually their
>> voices are not sufficient to start a national discussion about the things
>> they need. Doctors, as educated and prestigious as they are, unite when it
>> comes to representing their interests and, for that matter, the health
>> interests of the American people. Farmers form organizations to try to
>> increase their prices and protect against what they see as overly
> burdensome
>> regulation. Many from all walks of life unite to protect the environment
> by
>> reminding us that some of the things we want for enhancing our creature
>> comforts come at a cost that may jeopardize the well-being of the earth
> for
>> our children and our children's children. The concept of organizing for
>> collective action, to amplify the voice, to share the load, and to bring
>> very disparate groups with talent and expertise to serve a cause is not
>> unique to the blind, nor is it unique to America. It is the longing of
>> people everywhere to better themselves and the realization that not every
>> good that needs doing can be accomplished by one human being, no matter
> her
>> determination or skill or drive. It is the understanding that true
>> independence often involves the more complicated concept of
> interdependence
>> and that learning to work together does not detract one little bit from
> our
>> individuality, our ability to make choices, and our ability to influence
> the
>> world.
>> 
>> I want a piece of the American dream. That means more than Supplemental
>> Security Income because I am deemed too disabled to work. That means more
>> than food stamps and subsidized housing because I am considered so
>> impoverished that only through a government program can I eat and have
>> shelter from the elements. I want the right to information and that means
>> more than a book of fiction in which I live my life through the words and
>> stories of others. I have benefited from and support each of these
> programs
>> and I do not write to throw stones. There are forces in the world that
>> conspire to keep me in this place, a place of continual dependence. It is
>> not a harsh place with physical bars, but a place built by a compassionate
>> America trying to do good for people they perceive as having a significant
>> need. It is not a jail neither is it a zoo; but it is a cage, albeit one
>> with radios and televisions and devices to produce music on demand. It is
> a
>> place where we may play but not a place for we may grow. Programs intended
>> to provide us with a staircase to upward mobility have too often become
> the
>> means for lifelong support. The tragedy is that life is so much less than
> it
>> could be for we who are blind and our country gets so much less from good
>> minds and overflowing hearts who long to find a way to meaningfully
>> contribute. 
>> 
>> The alternative path requires more training, perseverance, and perhaps
> even
>> more good luck. The process is rehabilitation, and by rehabilitation I
> mean
>> much more than accepting the help to go from high school to training
> school
>> or college. For me rehabilitation means entering into a contract, a sacred
>> pledge to make good on the goodwill and the investment of taxpaying
>> Americans by turning education and equipment into productive work. It is
>> more than accepting, as a matter of course, this government program for
> the
>> blind that can sometimes be little more than a transition from education
> to
>> more education to lifelong dependence. At its best, rehabilitation is the
>> power of people to help people, the way a society helps some of its
> members
>> move from needing a meal to earning a meal. It can, at its best, be an
>> example of government truly serving and at its worst an example of raising
>> expectations only to crush them. We, the blind people who organize and
> work
>> in the Federation, determine which it will be. 
>> 
>> Several months ago I watched a Republican primary where a candidate was
>> asked what should be done about an uninsured 29-year-old man lying in a
>> hospital following a motorcycle crash. Should he be allowed to die was the
>> timidly advanced question, and before the candidate could answer, a
>> disturbingly loud minority in that audience began to clap. The America I
> see
>> is no longer in a place where she believes she can extend benefits to
> those
>> who do not pay for them. If this is true for something as basic as medical
>> care, how long is it before we see America questioning whether there is
>> money to support her disabled citizens who have been offered
> rehabilitation
>> services but who continue to remain on the public dole? How many people
> must
>> succeed in the rehabilitation process to convince an ever skeptical and
>> belt-tightening America that this magical contract between blind people
> and
>> the rest of America's citizens should continue? Partly that answer depends
>> on us and how well we make the case for what we need and the wonderful
>> things that happen when rehabilitation works. Partly it depends on how
> well
>> we make the case to other blind people for moving beyond our comfort zone
>> and actively addressing those areas in which we are weak or scared or
>> paralyzed by our inexperience with the world.
>> 
>> I am a member of the National Federation of the Blind because I realize it
>> has been an important part in helping me live a bit of the American dream.
> I
>> am a part because I want to pay it forward and to share the blessings I've
>> been given with others. I know that as important as a positive mental
>> attitude and philosophy are, they are little more than words if there
> isn't
>> some kind of active effort to transform them into actions. Wanting to feed
>> the starving is more than wanting--it is doing something to advance that
>> cause--donating money, growing food, building roads, and buying vehicles.
>> None of this is accomplished by remaining on the sidelines and being an
>> observer, even if an informed one; it is accomplished by a resolution to
> do
>> something and then by following through on that resolution.
>> 
>> The Federation, for all the pride I take in her, is not a luxury liner
>> capable of being guided and run by a few and on which many may ride in
>> comfort. Instead my Federation is a canoe, a ship that can carry a few,
> but
>> needs every person who can to be at the ores pushing us along, steering us
>> in the direction we want to go, and helping us avoid the obstacles that
>> would break our frail craft if not maneuvered with skill, intelligence,
> and
>> the support of a God and a public who wants the best for us. Blind
>> Americans, just like sighted Americans, can make the choice as to whether
> or
>> not to be involved, but the choice they make has consequences for all of
> us.
>> The more people we have who are active rowers of our canoe, the more each
> of
>> us who row have time to do other things and the more likely we are to
>> succeed. Our mission is a noble one that argues for our own independence
> and
>> for the continued prosperity of our nation. I believe it is so important
>> that we dare not sit on the sidelines. I have spent enough of my life
> being
>> told to observe and weight. When I have a choice, I will choose
>> participation, service, and the knowledge that, come what may, I have
> tried.
>> This is why I am a part of the Federation. This is why I ask others to be
> a
>> part. I don't want to whine and I don't want to preach. I want to be
>> grateful for what I have, to repay those who have helped to make it come
>> true, and to pay it forward for those who want the same kind of future I
>> want. I ask for the energy that others can bring in charting that course
> and
>> then helping us travel it.
>> 
>> Gary
>> 
>> 
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