A Little Moxie Summer Blog Hop - "Coming to Terms with Disability in My Life"

This will be an uncharacteristically short blog post for me, because I kind of deal with this issue of “coming to terms” all the time at my blog, Disability Thinking. Just visit there and browse, and you should be able to figure out how I have and have not come to terms with disability in my life.

I will only add this …

I am 47 years old. I have had disabilities all of my life. I have been exposed to a wide range of different ideas about disability, approaches, disability cultures, and philosophies. Yet, although I mostly relate to a generally “positive” view of disability, I can’t entirely buy into the idea that disability is “great” or “awesome” or “special”. Nor does it feel right to say it’s a “tragedy” or “handicap” or “illness”.

To me, disability isn’t a good thing, or a bad thing. It is just a thing. I used to think that was a cop-out, but more than ever, I really think that’s my answer … the terms I have come to with disability. Any other answer seems off-target and reductive.

Disability and Politics

Are you a Democrat or a Republican? A Progressive Conservative, Liberal, or New Democrat? Labour, Tory, Liberal Democrat, or whatever that UKIP thingy is? Are you a liberal or conservative, or perhaps a libertarian?

If you're not sure, or if you think you could do with a bit of a check-in on your political views, take this new Pew Research Center questionnaire to find out your approximate political position, at least in relation to US politics. Be sure to note the emphasis on choosing the answers closest to your beliefs. You will probably find several questions where you like aspects of both answers.

I also recommend this Vox.com article about the Pew Center’s new report on politics in America, which, among other things, subdivides the traditional red vs. blue, liberal vs. conservative formulation into more specific viewpoints. It’s an interesting read.

Then ask yourself, "Does my disability experience have any affect on my general political views?" Or, do your political views influence how you understand disability?

Sometime in the next few days, I plan to post something about how I “scored” on the Pew questionnaire, and how that relates to my understanding of disability.