A Personal Reflection

Looking back to the beginning of January, for this Argument class alone, much has changed. I first had the opportunity to speak with my family, the Hooks, at the end of that month, and since then, have found myself thinking about them often. Right away, my family caught my attention and my heart. David is a single father who is unable to work because he has to give fulltime care to his four-year-old son, Tucker. As someone who came from a family of two parents and nine siblings, the Hook family seemed vastly different from my own personal life. While I trust that David and Tucker will benefit from the letter written on behalf to their governor and legislators, I believe that I’ve actually benefitted more from this whole experience.

If nothing else, working to serve the people of the Waiting List--like David and Tucker--has taught me what it means to really live ours lives for others. It isn’t enough to learn about the Waiting List or the End the Wait Campaign and think “wow, that’s unfair, someone should do something about that.” If service learning has taught me anything, it’s the importance of taking action. Sometimes the very act of trying means more than actually accomplishing a task. At the very least, it means that you cared enough to start the ball rolling.

I’m so happy that I was able to be a part of a program like this, because honestly, without this service learning class I would have had no idea about the Arc of Maryland, the Waiting List Campaign, or the End The Wait Campaign—all programs or organizations that are essential to so many Maryland residents. I don’t have anyone in my family who has a developmental disability, but through the Hooks, I’ve grown to understand that even though more attention or aid is needed to care for someone like Tucker, their disabilities don’t define who they are as a person. People with developmental disabilities deserve a chance to experience life the same way you or I experience it; and while I may not have known that three months ago, I certainly know that now.

Civil Rights and the Waiting List Campaign

Throughout the course of the semester, the common theme of our readings has been that “All men are created equal.” We’ve looked at this fundamental American principle with regards to the rights of African Americans and women, but we can also look at it from another standpoint—the rights of those with developmental disabilities.

At their perspective times, activists who supported the civil rights of “minorities” faced tremendous opposition because there were people who truly thought that their own civil rights were not on the same par of those lacking the same equalities. Unfortunately, even in the era we live in today where the common consensus is that all people really are created equal, there still remains a stigma of people with developmental disabilities. People, who think that these unique individuals don’t deserve the same civil rights as you or me, don’t think so because they know all the facts; they think so out of ignorance.

The Waiting List is a civil rights issue because, specifically to the state of Maryland, certain inhabitants aren’t receiving the funds and services necessary to maintain a basic lifestyle. Many to most people with or have a family member with a developmental disability struggle day in and day out to make ends meet, either financially or emotionally. Granted, while funds are limited in today’s economy, it is unacceptable to think that these people, citizens who pay taxes are not put as a top priority in the eyes’ of the Maryland government. For example, the denial of the Alcohol Tax shows that powerful lobbyists place more stake in a product than over fellow human beings!

Aside from fiscal constraints, people opposing the Waiting List Campaign do so out of ignorance or indifference. When they see someone with a developmental disability, they automatically note the physical difference; they notice what they can’t do. Because they focus all their attention on of how these individuals are unlike their own self, they fail to take into account the vast number of things they have in common, most basically, the simple right of being treated as a human being, one that is no different from you or I.

One of the things that the Waiting List ensures is the awareness of the issue of funding for people with developmental disabilities. The organization realizes that many people may have misconceptions about the developmental disabled community, but it focuses on positive avenues for people within their communities to get educated, get involved, and make a difference in their lives of their neighbors. Without campaigns such as the Waiting List to support people who are generally passed over by “more important” stakes in government funding, citizens with developmental disabilities would never reach their full potential…nor would they realize that they have those basic civil rights at all.

What Fitzhugh Could Never Understand....

In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote, “that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among them are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” The families with developmental disabilities on the Waiting List face opposition when it comes to procuring funds on behalf of the state of Maryland. George Fitzhugh, a Virginia lawyer, pushed for civil rights to stay out of the hands of African Americans. His opinion on the natural rights of men could be applied to the Waiting List Campaign.

In his argument, Fitzhugh writes that “men are not born physically, morally, or intellectually equal.” This is an obvious truth, one that every person can agree upon based on reason. Fitzhugh points out some examples of the differences people may have—strong vs. weak, brave vs. timid, amiable vs. wicked, etc. With regards to people with developmental disabilities, often times, when people see someone with a disability, they automatically note the physical difference; they notice what they can’t do. Because they focus all their attention on of how these individuals are unlike their own self, they fail to take into account the vast number of things they have in common, most basically, the simple right of being treated as a human being, one that is no different from you or I. While some people may feel that services should be provided to ensure the basic rights of citizens with a developmental disability, others, like Fitzhugh, would argue that their rights as citizens are different from our rights as citizens because of the natural difference between the two kinds of people.

Fitzhugh would also argue that government institutions shouldn’t be responsible for taking care of its’ citizens that lack the same skills and abilities as all the rest. He writes, “No institutions can prevent the few from acquiring rule and ascendency over the many. Liberty and free competition invite and encourage the attempt of the strong to master the weak; and insure their success.” Those who are naturally stronger and intellectually superior will stand out amongst the rest as leaders. Why should they have to worry about those who don’t measure up to the same standards? Fitzhugh would mention our economic instability a evidence enough to refuse funding a program like the Waiting List Campaign because it would waste money that could be going to beefing up the capitalist market, an institution that supports the strongest, most competitive businessmen getting ahead.

While Thomas Jefferson might have said, “that all men are created equal,” Fitzhugh would have a problem with admitting this to be true, across the board. He would not consider someone with a developmental disability to be of equal standing with regards to civic rights because of their inherent and apparent differences. Unfortunately, even though we may have progressed, today, there may still be people who feel that it isn’t their responsibility or duty to take care of those who are unable to take care of themselves.

Ignorance, intolerance, and indifference are a daily apart of our lives. Yet, even in the midst of opposition, we can find hope. We must ALWAYS remain positive!

Video of the Day

Video of the Day

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Get Involved.
End the Wait Now.

-Devon O.

Twist on MLK's Letter from Birmingham Jail (Not for Actual Use!)

My Dear Governor O’Malley,

While confined here on Loyola’s campus, I came across your recent statement calling our present activities pertaining to the Alcohol Tax as “unwise and untimely.” Since I feel that you are a man of genuine good will and that your criticisms are sincerely set forth, I want to try to answer your statement in what I hope will be patient and reasonable terms.

I think I should explain what I am doing here in Baltimore since you have been influenced by the view which argues for “One Maryland.” I am a freshman at Loyola University, a Jesuit institute. I was drawn to this school for its urban setting, community service opportunities, and business academics. A scholarship was also extended to me from the school. So I am here because I was accepted here and Baltimore is where I spend a large majority of my year.

One of the basic points in your statement is that the action that I and my associates have taken in Maryland is untimely. You have asked: “Why not wait until after elections to raise the tax?” The only answer that I can give is that we must push for the Alcohol Tax every year, no matter what other political activity may be occurring. Besides, many Marylanders would actually support the Alcohol Tax so long as it was used as designated funding.

The people on the Waiting List know, through painful experience, that funding is never voluntarily given by those who hold the purse strings; it must be demanded by those who need it. For years now they have heard the word “Wait!” It rings in every ear on the Waiting List with piercing familiarity. This “Wait” has almost meant “Never.” We must come to see that “justice too long delayed is justice denied.”

I had hoped that you would understand that civil rights exist for the purpose of establishing justice and that when they fail in this purpose they become dangerously structured damns that block the flow of social progress. By not providing those on the Waiting List with funding you are grossly underestimating their potential. They need funding to reach their potential and have the quality of life that most of us take for granted.

If I have said anything in this letter that overstates the truth and indicates an unreasonable impatience, I beg you to forgive me. If I have said anything that understates the truth and indicates my having a patience that allows me to settle for anything less than equality, I beg God to forgive me.

Yours for the cause of Equality and Justice, Devon O.