[nfbmi-talk] blind kids and civics

[Christine Boone]

Well Said Joe.  

On Oct 31, 2013, at 6:52 PM, joe harcz Comcast <joeharcz at comcast.net> wrote:

> 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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