Persons with Disabilities: Millions of opportunities to Build…or Destroy

 About 10 years ago, I had one of those moments that teach a lesson that lasts a lifetime. I was single and attended a church with lots of other singles. Three young ladies were walking towards me, and in a joking way, I said, “Uh, oh. Here comes trouble.” It wasn’t a damaging statement, nor was it abusive. But that’s not the point. The point was that I had an opportunity to lift someone else up, and I didn’t. Communication is a powerful process. We have the power to communicate…to destroy and degrade those around us, or to build and elevate human potential and the human spirit.

Let me jump to the present day.  This morning, Disability.gov presented the findings of the “First National Study on Crime Against Persons with Disabilities,” conducted in 2007 (http://www.disability.gov/home/press_room/disability_connection_newsletter/2009/october#study-on-crime). Among the findings were that those with a disability were twice as likely as those without to be victims of rape or sexual assault, and females with a disability were more likely to be victimized than males with a disability. The fact that “disabilities” and “victims of crime” even come together leaves a hollow pit in my stomach. I mourn over such destruction. It’s morally wrong, and is a substantive stain on the character of anyone who would do so.

Permit me to offer a striking contrast. My Murray High School made me proud when in 1997, Shellie Eyre was nominated as the Homecoming Queen in a landslide victory. Shellie was born with Down’s Syndrome. (See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HD5FDf5CGz4 for a quick PSA based on Shellie’s story). I had chills and wet eyes when I first heard of it. An entire high school student body stood a little taller that day, but more importantly, none stood taller than one girl…Shellie Eyre, the Homecoming Queen who would never be forgotten. The MHS student body got it.  And, so many of you also get it…you’ve seen the smiles, felt the satisfaction, and known the intrinsic rewards of building those around you.

I believe in the power of the human spirit, and that someday, the spirits of those with disabilities will rise to be seen in their true, magnificent stature. But, we don’t have to wait until that “someday” to recognize that stature. That can begin now if we will collectively find opportunities to lift up those who struggle with disabilities of all sorts. I hope that today, when I have the opportunity to use my words and my influence with those around me, I will choose to build others. I hope that I will choose instead of sarcasm, a smile; in place of criticism, a compliment; and rather than emphasizing a “problem,” I will encourage a potential. Will you join me? Will you invite others to join us? Together we can do small things that will make a big difference.