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

[Chris Nusbaum]

Yes it is; you are exactly right! If I were the editor of the 
Monitor, I'd reprint it in that magazine! Gary, maybe we could 
get a collection together of some of the responses to this 
thread, and put them in an article for the Monitor.  This could 
be a sort of follow-up to Dr.  Jernigan's "Why I Am a 
Federationist" recording which was transcribed in the January 
issue.  We could call it something like "Why I am a 
Federationist: Perspective on the Meaning of the NFB by Today's 
Members," or something like that.  What do you think?

Chris

"The real problem of blindness is not the loss of eyesight.  The 
real problem is the misunderstanding and lack of education that 
exists.  If a blind person has the proper training and 
opportunity, blindness can be reduced to a mere physical 
nuisance."
-- Kenneth Jernigan

 ----- Original Message -----
From: Michelle Medina <michellem86 at gmail.com
To: gwunder at earthlink.net, Blind Talk Mailing List 
<blindtlk at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:54:46 -0500
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] why is it important to join an 
organization of theblind?

Gary,
It may have been long, but this is a much appreciated response 
and
sharing of your wisdom! Thank you!!
Michelle

On 1/17/12, Gary Wunder <GWunder at earthlink.net> 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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--
Sometimes it takes darkness and the sweet
confinement of your aloneness
to learn anything or anyone
that does not bring you alive
is too small for you.
~ David Whyte ~ (House of Belonging)

Sadie Marie Medina!
Original birthdate unnone.
First birthday with us: 2/15/2009
Welcome home baby!

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