[Nfbmt] Dreams, by Sheila Leigland

[Sheila Leigland]

Hi since I wrote it I'm fine with it being shared wherever you think it 
would be useful.

On 6/18/2015 8:16 PM, Becca Stewart via Nfbmt wrote:
> Hi Joy.  How would you and Sheila feel about me sharing this touching letter
> on face book?  Many of my friends are sighted and this letter really
> explains a lot of the issues we face every day as blind folks and it would
> help them to understand our plight.  Let me know what you guys think.
> Thanks.
> Becca
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Nfbmt [mailto:nfbmt-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Bruce&Joy
> Breslauer via Nfbmt
> Sent: Tuesday, June 16, 2015 9:51 PM
> To: nfbmt
> Cc: Bruce&Joy Breslauer; rik
> Subject: [Nfbmt] Dreams, by Sheila Leigland
>
> Have you ever written something down just to get it off your chest, a rant
> aimed at everybody in general and nobody in particular, usually not meant
> for publication, to vent your frustration about the way things are in your
> life, or at least the way you perceive them to be at that particular moment?
> Maybe it's something that has built up over time, or something that comes to
> a head suddenly and seeks an outlet before you go postal.
>
>   
>
> Most people aren't brave enough to share such rantings on an email list, but
> I know somebody who is.  So since we're all friends here, I promise I won't
> tell if you won't tell.  We'll keep this little secret just between us.
>
>   
>
> At a recent at large chapter meeting, President Sheila Leigland asked what
> are our dreams as blind people.  If we could have the best of all possible
> worlds, what would our world be like?  Here is something she wrote last
> winter along those lines that she gave me permission to share.  It might get
> us thinking about how we can work together as an organization to see some of
> our dreams come true.
>
>   
>
> Snip snip
>
> Someone once asked me what my dreams for the future were, and actually, I
> have been giving this some thought in reference to what I would like to see
> happen for blind people in our country.
>
>   
>
> In my perfect world, blindness would truly be a physical nuisance. I
> wouldn't have people asking if there are homes for the blind.  People
> wouldn't be amazed that we can buy a house. Well-meaning folks wouldn't
> assume that we all have free housing because we are such nice people. Blind
> parents wouldn't need to defend their right to have and raise their
> children. They would never feel that a pregnancy needed to be hidden.  Blind
> parents wouldn't be hurt because the suggestion of someone else raising
> their children wouldn't even come up in conversation, because we would be
> seen as capable and loving parents.
>
>   
>
> In my perfect world, we wouldn't have to fight for accessible materials in
> our schools and places of higher education. We would be able to take the
> classes of our choosing and pass or fail like everyone else. We could work
> equally with those around us in our chosen fields and truly be judged by the
> work that we do, not our disability. As a wife and mother, It would not be
> assumed that because I'm blind I wouldn't see whether my home is clean. A
> teacher wouldn't even think about sending me a note stating that she felt my
> son needed a haircut, as if because I didn't see the length of his hair I
> wouldn't know that it was too long. My own relatives wouldn't have been
> afraid that we would lose our child while taking him to Disneyland just
> because we are blind.
>
>   
>
> I'm a part of the national federation of the blind because I want us to
> realize the dream of my perfect world. I just want us to be able to live the
> lives that we want. If I believed that these dreams that I have aren't
> possible to achieve, I would choose to not be a part of the National
> federation of the blind, but I do choose to belong because my ideals are
> worth standing up for and, yes, fighting for. I know that the road seems
> long and it isn't easy, but oh it will be worth it when these things happen,
> because then we will be truly free.
>
>   
>
> Sheila Leigland
>
> Snip snip
>
>   
>
> Joy Breslauer, President
>
> National Federation of the Blind of Montana
>
> www.nfbofmt.org
>
>   
>
> Live the life you want
>
>   
>
> The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
> characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
> expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles
> between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want;
> blindness is not what holds you back
>
>   
>
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> m
>
>
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