Even though many persons with disabilities may not have the opportunity to participate directly in the most featured, romanticized, glorified and wasteful events in history—war—they could continue to be “lost in the shuffle” caused by war. Government funds have been and will continue to be reallocated to our allies waging war. Recent events cause the regular/mainstream media as well as social media to focus on the wars currently in progress and all the hate that goes with them. One horrible outcome of war always will be the growth in the number of combatants and citizens (collateral damage) who end up disabled both physically and mentally. Acts of terrorism often start conflicts that historically demand counter measures, and cumulatively, the hostile actions taken along this continuum result in more people with disabilities. One of the iconic symbols of war continues to be license plates on vehicles that read Disabled Veteran.
Countries which have not entered the age of modern warfare whereby they employ drones and robotic devices to wound and kill their enemies, tend to cling to old and much cheaper methods e.g. planting Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). These devices when they explode, propel nails, ball bearings etc. in all directions with the intended outcome of wounding and killing as many people as possible. The results are more disabled combatants and more disabled innocent civilians ---men, women, and children.
We should not allow persons with disabilities –many of whom have spent most of their lives as second-class citizens because of their disabilities-- to be pushed aside once more and/or out of the view of those who can alter their status e.g. elected officials. As a society, we also cannot allow war to slow down the progress we have made in the post-pandemic era for finding employment for those who can work remotely for all types of organizations in both the private and public sectors. The entities advocating for funding of programs for members of the disabled community cannot wait for the current conflicts to end. The emphasis on funding for projects that provide greater accessibility to training and education must continue. Programs that assist job seekers with disabilities to join the 21st Century workforce should not fade away for a while just because public interest and the political will has temporarily shifted to aiding our allies to wage war.
A single news program featuring an elected official --who has his/her fingers on the purse strings in Washington, D.C.-- walking through rubble in a war zone where children are wounded could contribute to causing a delay in funding government projects and programs for the disabled community. The pressure to assist anyone with a disability, perhaps someone who cannot enjoy one or more of the activities of daily living 365 days a year, cannot be affected because of such emotion-laden media pieces served up on a 24-7 basis.
Of course, war and politics deserve our attention as citizens of a country still considered a world leader from most perspectives. Nevertheless, even the most interesting and important subjects of life can turn into distractions for those with whom the power resides for change as they cater to their constituents. Politics figure into every dimension of government budgeting. Disability programs and benefits should never be used as bargaining chips by elected officials nor should they be relegated to a level of importance inferior to that of funding wars.
The challenge for those who want to improve the lives of persons with disabilities means pursuing goals relentlessly i.e., now, despite the inescapable focus by others on things like war and politics. These simple words of wisdom need to be backed by actions that result in removing barriers in a timely manner for those with disabilities. And these actions cannot be postponed until something ends such as the 2024 elections or occurs such as a negotiated settlement of one or more of the armed conflicts currently in progress.
This means that anyone interested in the plight of persons with disabilities should not entertain thinking such as “maybe we should just wait until terrorism subsides or the latest war ends,” or “we will return to pursuing our initiative, project, or program after the 2024 Presidential election.” More funding, aggressive enforcement of the existing laws for those in the constitutionally protected classes, and more employment opportunities for job seekers with disabilities are ongoing initiatives that cannot be sidelined due to the latest unnatural disaster caused by human beings --war. Politics, of course, will rival war for media attention until the 2024 Presidential Election.
The United States for the moment is holding fast to its position of “no boots on the ground” in any of our allies’ wars which translates into no direct military intervention involving American troops, although our support efforts in areas adjacent to war zones have resulted in more American casualties. This is a policy of extreme importance when we think about the number of casualties of wars in which the U. S. has been involved. Here are some of those numbers:
- Over 1.8 million veterans have some degree of officially recognized disability as a result of war — veterans of recent wars account for more than half of the severely disabled veteran population.
- Over 5 million veterans, well beyond 25% percent of all veterans, suffer from a military service-connected disability.
- Nearly 4.0 million veterans (approximately 20%) receive disability compensation payments.
We tend to think of the more iconic types of injuries inflicted upon those serving in the various branches of the military partially due to media coverage and the movies and television programs we watch. Unfortunately, the actual list of injuries is quite lengthy. Some of the more common injuries --that result immediately in or can turn into-- permanent disabilities follow:
- 2nd/ 3rd degree burns
- shrapnel wounds
- limb loss
- brain injuries
- spinal cord injuries
- nerve damage
- paralysis
- loss of sight and hearing
- post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)*
* Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) lasts a lifetime; lifespan is reduced 8 to 9 years.
The number of disabled people in the world is undoubtedly on the rise, and someday their numbers most likely will be measurable on a real time basis as data collection improves with the next generation of technology e.g., Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Quantum Computers (QC). What if your favorite news outlet or website provided you with real time reports like these—
Today’s terrorist act caused permanent blindness and loss of hearing for 27 children playing in a park adjacent to a hospital, six of whom also suffered TBI, and 15 women in the maternity ward suffered horrific scarring due to 3rd degree burns [Please standby for an update]. The totals have grown to 34 children and 21 women.... [Please stay tuned for further updates]
or
We can now confirm that in today’s battle 97 U.S. soldiers received official notification of their injuries which will result in permanent disabilities:
8-paralyzed; 13-loss of vision and hearing; 4-TBI; 12-loss of both arms and legs; 7 lost one arm; 23 lost one leg; PTSD estimated at the 72% level for the 97 casualties as a group.
Such news programming would be unnerving for the average person, but it would lead to a better understanding of the term casualties. Casualties as a number only, masks the pain and suffering of those who have sustained injuries that will result in permanent disabilities. Wounded warriors don’t just convalesce at a VA Hospital and disappear; they disperse upon discharge to all parts of the country where many may need special care for the rest of their lives.
When artificial intelligence and quantum computers become fully integrated into our lives, we also will be in a position to collect data and analyze that data often in real time to ensure that we as a society can reach out to every person with a disability to determine what services or benefits they require. Furthermore, at that stage of technological evolution, neither the public nor private sectors will be able to hide behind laws and regulations or the holdings emanating from the courts that negatively affect the rights of a person with a disability. The public will know....and ignorance most definitely will not be bliss.
Staying laser-focused on the goals and actions that elevate the status of anyone with a disability is as important today as it was before the Russians invaded Ukraine and Hamas attacked Israel. As for the effect of politics and elections, we simply haven’t seen a lot of headlines (newspapers or websites) or lead stories lately about new initiatives or legislation that would promote equality or equity for persons with disabilities. Throughout history a just cause has often been supplanted with a temporary distraction like war or politics. The quicker the champions for the disabled community react to the political will on display at the moment, the less time it will take for them to recover the post-pandemic momentum. We live in the moment with the knowledge that we must plan as best we can for whatever might come our way in 2024. Nevertheless, we know when we make our plans that politics, some of the time, and war, all of the time, will affect the circumstances and numbers, respectively, of persons with disabilities.
Our guest blogger is Ron Arthur, JD, Masters in Law, MBA. Ron is the State Equal Opportunity Officer and the ADA Title II Coordinator for the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. He also serves as a member of the Rocky Mountain ADA Center Advisory Committee.