In the hubbub of an election, sometimes we lose sight of the people it affects.
When I was born, I suffered from a brain tumor. The doctors did their best, and they managed to save my life. But the damage had been done, and I grew up disabled.
The dictionary defines disability as a “lack of power, strength, or physical or mental ability.” But I think of disability as something that makes you unique.
Living with a disability is not easy. I have had to work hard for what others could accomplish with ease. But because of my close encounter with death, I have a deep-seated appreciation for life. I view it as an opportunity to overcome new obstacles each day.
A disability can be challenging, but every life has its set of challenges. They can be the result of financial hardship, or gender, or race. And we need leaders who can see those differences not as shortcomings to be pitied, but as differences to be celebrated.
But when a politician unapologetically mocks the disabled, when a politician attacks an entire creed, when a politician says American service members imprisoned for their bravery are “not heroes for having been captured,” then it is clear that he does not understand a fundamental aspect about human identity. That politician is not fit to lead.
We cannot let ourselves get swept away. We cannot let politicians brush us aside. We cannot let politics disparage our common humanity.
TAYLOR CLEMENS ARDINGER
Concord