Reforming a Decade--The New Freedom Initiative
As a young woman striving for independence in a discriminatory world, I understand the complex and often limiting perils to which I am predisposed. A disability in itself places you under the hand of unwelcome sympathy and the disrespect that popular culture subjects us to. I’m sure we all remember the blockbuster comedy, “There’s Something About Mary.” Mary, the protagonist, was unique in the way that she had several men as her love interests. But I’m sure that if asked, most of us would recall her younger brother who was portrayed negatively, just because he had a disability.
The movie, much like the rest of society, was a reinforcement of society’s attitude toward people with disabilities. But let us not forget its prevalence in the United States. Every fifteen seconds, someone suffers a brain injury. According to the Funk & Wagnall’s Ecyclopedia, approximately one in eleven were disabled in the 1980’s. Forty-nine million people in the United States are living with a disability today, said the American Association of People with Disabilities. According to recent studies, the unemployment rate for people with disabilities is just over seventy percent.
But the fact is that we’re seeing this more and more. The recent comedy, “Me, Myself & Irene,” also produced by the makers of “There’s Something About Mary,” pokes fun at people with mental disorders, such as psychosis and was riddiculed by various groups that advocate for people with disabilities. Why? We live in a society that glamorizes the unfair treatment and biased attitudes towards the disabled to the extent that disabled Americans are being denied employment, funding and the things necessary to live a productive life.
Eleven years have passed since the Americans with Disabilities Act was enacted in 1990. Its purpose was to stop discrimination against people with disabilities; to ensure that people with disabilities receive equal treatment in society, employment, and many other aspects of their lives. Unfortunately, it fell short of achieving its goal.
U.S. President, George W. Bush has a great concern for this. Bush has called to action a “New Freedom Initiative,” as he calls it, to help move beyond the hurdles that once stood in the way of Americans with Disabilities. This initiative seeks to broaden the availability of “assisted technologies” to people with disabilities. People who have suffered brain injuries can greatly benefit from this, as there are some software programs available that may help with recovery. Parrot Software is one example of this.
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