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I would characterize this year as the rise of democracy in action amongst tumultuous events (i.e. “Wow, that was one hell of a year”).
This year has seen devastation and horrors at a consistency unlike any year in my lifetime. From hurricanes to fires to mass shootings, it seemed like the next tragedy was always around the corner. It has made our nation anxious.
On top of that we have seen political norms in Washington D.C. turned upside down, and policy proposals that would have sweeping impacts on every person in society, such as health care reform, tax reform, and immigration reform. It has made our nation feel threatened.
The result has been our country doing what our country does best: democracy in action. We saw it when people with disabilities chained themselves in the halls of Congress when the Affordable Care Act was at risk. We saw it when millions of women marched cities around the nation. And we see it now in the #MeToo movement. Organized and activated individuals are changing the world.
Make no mistake, our country is going through a change. Will the disability community be an active participant in that change in 2018?
I truly believe that this next year has the potential to be a giant leap forward for disability rights and the prominence of the disability community globally. We are beginning to see it in our culture with tv shows highlighting people with disabilities, and in our economy with large corporations developing strategies to reach the previously unnoticed large customer block of people with disabilities. Our power is there for the taking, all you have to do is start grabbing it.
My hope for the coming year is that we’ll see a groundswell of organized and activated individuals with disabilities changing the world. And you know that The Arc will be there right by your side.