Religion & Law

Reacting to my post about President Obama's special olympics joke, a reader reflected that he "could not help being struck by the contrast between this comment and Sarah Palin's promise that parents of children with special needs will have an advoate in the White House."  He continued with a line of questioning that I struggle with myself:

. . . the broader--and more important-- issue of why people with disabilities do not have a stronger political voice.  I realize that many such individuals--and of course children--are not in a position to wield political power.  Nevertheless, with rates of autism and other special needs increasing so dramatically, I am frustrated that parents of children with disabilities (let alone the children themselves) are not viewed with more respect in the political process.  . . . I imagine part of the problem is lack of organization, and I had hoped Sarah Palin's statement would energize an effort to empower parents to advocate for their children in the political arena.  Unfortunately, if the remark about the Special Olympics is any indication, I am no longer optimistic about this.

One of the things that's becoming increasingly clear to me about our current financial crisis is the nonpartisan nature of portion of the blame attributable to politicians who buried their heads in the sand as the mortgage bubble expanded and then began to explode.  Members of both parties were equally influenced by the substantial amount of campaign money flowing from the financial services industry. 

Conversely, it seems to me that both parties are equally influenced by the lack of money likely to flow from the coffers of the disability community.  The sad reality is that people with (at least the cognitive) disabilities are not in a position to wield political power.  Since people with cognitive disabilities might not vote, often can't speak for themselves, don't tend to be in a position to donate much money to candidates, and -- if we continue to perfect our technical ability to identify them before they are born -- will continue to shrink in number, politicians really don't spend much time (or political capital) on their needs.

This is what discourages me so much about politicians who take casual swipes at people with disabilities.  I think it reveals an (unconscious, I hope) assessment about the lack of any real political cost.