Don't Let Congress Erode Laws Protecting Women's Rights and the Disabled

This article discusses why your family should become very interested in what is happening in congress to women and the disabled. Women's rights and disabled people are in jeopardy to lose a lot of their hard gained advances. If families having children with learning disabilities don't get involved, they stand to lose the education benefits for their children. With Autism on the rise, we need everybody paying attention to the debate on entitlements. Congress is protecting the rich while taking from the most vulnerable. Congress is examining the laws of the United States to discern ways to cut the budget. The American with Disabilities Act will be one of the laws that if eroded will adversely affect women, disabled children and other handicapped people. The mentally retarded and autistic children are in the forefront of cuts. Special education is fully funded by the federal government. Also, SSI is not the same as Social Security. There is no trust fund.

From the late 50's to the 1970's, feminists and other activists fought for women's rights and The American Disabilities act.. By the middle 70's these activists made inroads and rejoiced when numerous laws were finally passed by congress. Now a much different congress is attempting to erode laws protecting women and the disabled. Some short sided legislators managed to control our house of representatives through the resources of the Tea Party.

Those determined to turn back the clock seem to gravitate to the Tea Party to use their resources and recognition. The Tea Parties' original intent was to cut government spending, not to change the laws protecting women's rights and the disabled. Not all of the laws being considered are financial in nature. What a shame. I remember reading a quote that indicated that throughout history, when women begin to gain status and power, no matter where they are in the world; they are systematically pushed back by men. Men then again hold the positions of power. The old saying that men should keep women barefoot and pregnant was how they kept power in the past. Hopefully, it will prove impossible to go back to that situation. We have gained so much because of technology and medicine. Women have more choice, but will it last? Without government laws and forcing the backing of those laws, women, handicapped and those with learning disabilities are vulnerable. Evan with the laws in place, many still don't have access to the basic protection of these laws.

A good example is the call for debate on eliminating some of the entitlements. Since most people aren't aware of the entitlements they use, these are the easiest to cut. Those families with disabled individuals need to unite and again fight to keep the rights many struggled so hard to gain. Advocates for seniors have already taken up the Mantra: "Don't cut our Social Security and don't mess with medicare", but these are only two of the entitlements, and social security uses a very different financial accounting than SSI and education entitlements.

We need women to be involved in the feminist fight because we are seeing our laws eroded, and some wanting to destroy our freedoms. The disabled are suffering through assaults on them, and their opportunities to education are coming up for cuts. Families of handicapped worked very hard since the early 50's to assure that mentally retarded had the right to an education, and safe and secure homes. The law that resulted was The Americans with Disabilities Act. This is the law that covers the rules for all education of learning disabilities, and the accessibility of disabled people to the same benefits the non handicapped enjoy. It includes education, SSI, and other entitlements.

I recently discovered this quote by President Kennedy that sums up what being a liberal means.

".... if by a "Liberal" they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people -- their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties -- someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "Liberal," then I'm proud to say I'm a "Liberal."

It certainly applies today. We need to have a forward-looking congress, not one repeating the old lies.

that Social Security will disappear for our children and grandchildren is a fallacy often repeated since Franklin Delano Roosevelt was president.That our country is going to go bankrupt, or that another great depression is imminent..That our government can't possibly take care of the most vulnerable.

Our country is exceptionally resilient, full of citizens with ideas and innovation. If they have the opportunity to thrive will develop what this country needs. To say that we have lost the American spirit is false. It is strong, and gets stronger when we have needs to fill.

I worked for 35 years with the mentally retarded and fought for women's rights and the laws governing them. None of us who worked on these laws are entirely satisfied with what congress actually passed, but they are the best we have. With such a diverse population, no one person is going to be satisfied with everything, but the laws we did manage to pass have served the disabled population well. To see the government systematically eroding the laws is unacceptable to me.

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