[nfbmi-talk] blind kids and civics

Fri Nov 1 20:41:02 UTC 2013

So well said Terry!  
Some of my greatest joys since coming to Michigan were the times spent at Camp T in the summer-time, working with students who were learning about science or Braille.  Then of course there were good fun and great laughs with young people at the Training Center too, at all times of the year.  To my great joy, some of those young students have gone on to accomplish fantastic things; like our own Daniel Garcia who is attending IRS training at World Services and has already been offered and accepted a full time job which will commence when he completes that training. What I know is that Daniel is a very impressive young man and he will go far in his life!  It is his work ethic and unquenchable spirit that will give encouragement to the next generation.  
Christine

On Nov 1, 2013, at 1:47 AM, Terry D. Eagle <terrydeagle at yahoo.com> wrote:

> I too grew up with similar civic values, as inspired by JFK, LBJ, and the
> likes of Sen. Humphrey and Rep. O'Neal.  It was that inspiration that lead
> me to serve as a Peace Corp volunteer in Guatemala upon graduation from
> college.  My greatest civic service hero, however, was my mom, who just
> happened to be blind, and she demonstrated the civic values I learned, from
> her practice of those values through imvolvement and holding office in PTA,
> PTSA, and other civic activities, like teaching students about blindness and
> vraille.  I have strived to pass along such civic values through my
> involvement in a long list of community activities.  I still chuckle when
> Mark, in his civic and political activities, he is  asked if I am related to
> him, or people tell mark that they rememver him as a child, from the days
> gone by, when I did civic activities.
> 
> As some people know, I am very about the future of our youth, and the future
> quality of life of our nation and organization, if we do not discover a way
> to engage our youth in the values of civic service as a duty of simply being
> an American, and showing appreciation for that honor, by giving something in
> return for such a blessing, rather than exhibiting entitlement, or being a
> victim of whatever they choose is beneficial to only themselves
> individually.  It really concerns and saddens me when the only close
> relationship they really have is with their 24/7 relationship with their
> electronic devices, whatever that is this week, and their form of sharing
> with the world outside themselves, is to unload on social media how lousy
> the world is today, and what a victim they are of the world.  I can only
> hope and pray that the youth, collectively as a segment of society, learn
> the lesson I learned early in life:  One need look around and observe to
> realize that as an individual, there are many many people worse off than
> self, and in need of a hand-up, a word of encourage and smile, and a helping
> hand to get to the next day, week, or hour perhaps.
> 
> I still tell people who believe life in this country is so bad, and only
> manage to complain of their situation, that either they need to go live in a
> country like Guatemala, or switch places with a person in pure poverty in a
> foreign land, and then observe and evaluate how horrible their life is in
> these United States called America, and whether they wish to become a
> citizen other  than an American!  In many countries they could not
> communicate their conclusion through any electronic device in which they are
> in a relationship!  
> 
> God bless America and our youth.
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfbmi-talk [mailto:nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of joe
> harcz Comcast
> Sent: Thursday, October 31, 2013 6:52 PM
> To: nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [nfbmi-talk] blind kids and civics
> 
> I grew up as a moderately visually impaired person having RP. But back in
> the sixties we did have a sense of public service, mostly from the likes of
> JFK as being a goodly thing and something that all of us no matter how small
> in the eyes of corporations or big government cared about. We also simply
> cared as a civic duty about each other. Moreover, we were taught in both
> private school and public school basic tenants of our democratic-republic
> and the rights of citizens under our Constitution.
> 
> 
> We were taught basic principles like the necessary checks and balances of a
> government that is made up of a legislature, executive and judiciary. Some
> of us also learned about the "Fourth Estate" which is and was the media to
> be a watchdog for all of our rights and to be a source of information to
> make these entities accountable.
> 
> 
> Now these simple things were fought for in our American Revolution and
> fought for again in our second revolution which some call the civil war.
> 
> For blind and otherwise disabled people these things were implicit and
> explicit in principle especially in the writings of Jacobus Tenbroek who was
> and is a lion of civil and human rights and not just for the blind but all
> of us.
> 
> 
> Facts are that our children, including those who are blind are not versed
> let alone properly instructed in the basics of our legislative and related
> processes.
> 
> 
> Part of what I do is to educate each and all of us in these fundamentals
> which apply to all of us as citizens.
> 
> We, who are blind are not children of alessor God, and nor are we children
> of lessor laws, or rule of law.
> 
> 
> At least we are not so in the basic principles of good governance I was
> taught years ago.
> 
> But our rights as citizens, let alone as blind people have been perveted by
> the likes of Arwood, Zimmer, Rodgers and, yes Snyder.
> 
> 
> Some of us call ourselves Republicans. Some say we are Democrats. Still
> others don't affiliate with either for they are disfunctional and/or
> corrupt.
> 
> But a basic thing that does apply is public activism and that applies to we
> who are blind.
> 
> 
> It disturbs me greatly that our youth are not taught the basics of civic
> involvement. And that certainly includes our youth who happen to be blind.
> 
> 
> We need to demand more of our youth. But, not in a vacuum. We need to demand
> that at least basics of civics are taught to our blind kids.
> 
> 
> This is so that they and we and all of us are included in our
> democratic-republic. For we regardless as to disability are supposed to be
> full citizens in this, sad and messy thing we call again a
> democratic-republic.
> 
> 
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