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The More Things Change the More They Stay the Same.

© William Robb

There is a saying which goes something like this." The more things change, the more things stay the same." How can this be? Isn't this a contradiction? How can you have change which is in reality no change? To see if this saying holds true let's look at laws which have supposedly helped several minorities in my country. The first Act was passed 35 years ago and was called the Civil Rights Act of 1963. It will soon be 36 years old and still those for whom it was written haven't received all the help needed to end discrimination based on artificial barriers not on qualification..

The Civil Rights Act spawned many laws which were supposed to help minorities including the disabled. There was an age discrimination Act of 1965. Did it stop this type of discrimination? No it didn't because we still have job discrimination based on age. Following this was the sex discrimination Act of 1968. It was supposed to have banned discrimination based upon sex. Did it do this? No it didn't because we still appear to have discrimination based upon sex. The more things change the more they stay the same.

In 1973, another piece of Civil Rights legislation came down. It was called the Vocational Rehabilitation Act. It could have helped the disabled if it had been enforced properly. It was supposed to have granted us the same protections which had already been extended to other minorities in 1963, 1965, and 1968. Twenty five years we appear to still be waiting for these protections. It did one thing;it banned the use of one's military record on a job application but replaced it with a barrage of pre-medical questions. An affirmative answer to any could mean that you could be viewed as a risk for employment even if you possessed the necessary qualifications. The more things change the more they stay the same.

If the Rehab Act of 1973 had been enforced then The American's With Disabilities Act would not have been necessary. Most of the rights contained in ADA were already present in the Rehab Act. They just weren't being enforced.. Eleven years after it was passed, ADA appears to have helped us very little because our unemployment rate is still around 70% just like it was in 1973. The more things change the more they stay the same.

ADA may have helped us if it hadn't been for Title V which stated that one could still be written up as a risk for private insurance. If one is a risk for private insurance won't they also be considered to be a risk for employment? One cannot be a risk in one area and not in the other. So like the 1973,with the insertions of pre-medical questions,we may still be denied employment opportunities based not upon our qualifications but rather on our presumed insurance risks. The more things change the more they stay the same.