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By Donna J. Jodhan
Easier said than done and I do not think that anyone would be too eager to disagree with me. Infighting is nothing new when it comes to every day life; almost every group and community experiences it but for our blind and visually impaired community! It seems to be something that has become a natural habit of the day. Shocker or shaker? Neither of the two. What would be a shocker is if we all decided to stop it. If all stakeholders were to decide to stop the infighting for the sake of the children of the future.
Sad to say, this picture extends well beyond the borders of Canada and throughout my travels I have come across similar types of situations in other countries; from developed countries to third world countries. Infighting seems to be the order of the day and it seems to be more prevalent and present in our community maybe because of the smallness of our size in comparison to other larger communities.
Too many times we fall into the trap of lashing out at each other without stopping to think why. We find it easier to bring each other down, to play games against each other, and to criticize each other. Why? Because it is easier to do all of this rather than to work with each other to improve our positions in society and enhance our quality of life. It is so much easier to throw spitballs at each other rather than to sit quietly to really take stock of what's going on. It is so much easier to be angry at each other rather than coming together to formulate a constructive and committed plan of action. It is so much easier to blame others for our problems and challenges rather than trying to find ways to solve them. It is so much easier to look at the glass as half empty rather than as half full.
I am not telling you anything knew. I am only trying to tell you the truth. It is time for us to stop blaming others. Time for us to stop criticizing each other and come together to help ourselves and the kids of the future. Time for us to stop thinking about ourselves and for a change think of those who are depending on us to help them. The kids of the future are depending on us. They are innocent bystanders looking to us for leadership and trail blazing. Are you going to turn your back on them just as you continue to turn your back on each other? Strength lies in numbers and we can only do it with each other's help.
The kids of the future are innocent pawns in the chess game of life. They come into this world hoping and depending on us to help them live as normal a life as possible. It is not their fault if they are born with a disability. Believe it or not, others before us took the time and made the commitment to try and improve things for those coming behind them (us), and they did it despite the infighting. Now it's our turn. Think of it like this: Rosa sat so that Martin could walk. Martin walked so that Obama could run. Obama ran so that the kids could fly!
By now, you may probably be swearing and sneering at me but you know what? I am used to these reactions plus a lot more but I know that there is one thing that you will agree with me on and it is this: Infighting has not gotten us anywhere. It has only served to divide and conquer us. We need to stop the infighting now. Things are only going to get tougher as time marches on. It is our responsibility and ours alone to do this and if we don't then at the end of the day we'll have no one else to blame when society decides to shrink our world.
I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your freelance writer and reporter wishing you a terrific day.
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