Private: Forging a Renewed Commitment to Disability Rights

by Gary C. Norman, attorney and Maryland Civil Rights Commissioner; co-founder and editor of the Mid-Atlantic Journal on Law and Public Policy.

Leaders convened on October 29 at the Robert J. Dole Institute for Politics, discussing, in honor of Constitution Day, the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended. The Dole Institute is as awe inspiring in its architectural infrastructure as it is awe inspiring in its mission to broker informed leadership and civility. After touching the nation’s largest stained glass window of the United States flag, flanked with glass-enclosed beams from the World Trade Center, I found the renewed resolve that a new generation of public officials with disabilities, such as myself, require in our continued march toward a St. Louis-like moral arc of progress. While our grand republic has serious issues requiring fervent oratory and action, my hope is that a new generation of disabled leaders will be prominent in the public square — with equal parts authenticity and jocularity (a characteristic held by the distinguished Senator Dole) as well as a respect for liberty and the gift bestowed on us of a great, if yet imperfect, republic.

Senator Dole, a statesman like Cicero, displayed on March 28, 2000, as part of the Leadership Lecture series at the U.S. Senate, both his jocularity and the words of President Jefferson as to another of his values: friendship. "Friendship is precious, not only in the shade, but in the sunshine of life.” I also agree with President Jefferson, doing so in spite of a disability that has its ample share of frustrating moments, angering moments, and even saddening moments, such as the loss of a trusted guide dog. Jefferson also stated, “And thanks to a benevolent arrangement of things, the greater part of life is sunshine." An astute post-doctoral student to whom I delivered remarks as part of a small colloquium on special education reminded me that, despite my disability, I have wealth and privilege. She reminded me that I have had more sunshine than adversity, making me even more committed to passing the light of liberty.

No leader, whether or not they have the fortune of being a Democrat as modern parties are known, should be supercilious in demeanor; they should seek instead to be of an open mind and an extending hand. A leader in the public square ― even as to such momentous issues as preserving liberty ― will, if fortunate, have the blessing of a reality check. Our legacies should be more about the quality of public policy and how it was achieved ― perhaps with self-effacing humor instead of vitriol ― than about honors received. Although I certainly reveled in being made a Visiting Fellow, I find it unimaginable that the great Senator reveled in his well-deserved awards, which spanned the height of an entire conference room at the Institute.

To my guide dog, Pilot, I am merely a buddy for whom he has learned to move when I walk across the parlor. While serving as a Visiting Fellow, Pilot snored on more than one occasion while I was engaged in delivering various forms of public oratory, including our Constitution Day panel which was broadcasted virtually through the marvels of the Internet. While I sat seriously, Pilot stretched his paws and planted himself into the carpet. (My first dog, whom I lost last year, would have risen, enjoying the sound of clapping and thinking the applause was for him.)

To engage in policy talk for a moment―the conditions in equal living, learning, and earning of the disabled have not improved in many respects since the first Senatorial speech the Senator delivered on April 14, 1969. As the Senator stated in his speech, which remains true for many disabled persons, the disabled encounter difficulty in merely boarding the bus, nevertheless having to sit in the back of the bus. The New York Times reported on a study gauging the employment conditions of the disabled, which are abysmal even in this, the ADA’s anniversary year. By extension, this means fewer political leaders with disabilities, given the state of campaign finance ― a subject for another date. While on campus, I discussed with thinkers and leaders disparities in equal access to education and equal access to healthcare services. I hope that in the next 25 years, the conversation will not only be about a rights-based framework but also cultural and political change, including more visible leaders.

In the moral arc as realized in the future, there will be a plentitude of public leaders of all abilities working on a bipartisan basis (perhaps also with some humor when appropriate) as follows:

• To accept and protect the safety net of our most vulnerable, including, but not limited to, eradicating healthcare disparities (the so-called, self-proclaimed “Freedom Caucus” begrudges that government has a role in protecting healthcare)
• To foster a sense of improved public virtue, including forbearance (as idealized in ancient Rome), while also promoting and safeguarding the religious toleration wisely advocated by the founders
• To resolve, in a manner reflective of notable Treasury Secretary Hamilton, our national debt
• To respect the civil and human rights of various groups, including the disabled, and ensure that they have equal quality of life, which in turn means all of us have more solidarity

A lot of work is required in rendering the above; even civil rights and disability rights ― often bipartisan issues ― have become polarized, particularly by Freedom Caucus types. Regardless, I navigate, in spite of some gloom, as a public leader with the help of a couple of inspiring giants: my guide dog, Pilot, and Senator Dole ― a fellow disabled leader with a career of noble service and a legacy of institutions like the Dole Institute.