I am the father of a 2 year old son recently diagnosed
with autism.
Our family has become very active in online communities
related to autism
as we try to learn as much as possible, and to
network with fellow parents
facing some of the same issues that we do.
We got a message this morning from one of those
groups that was on the
one hand utterly unsurprising, but at the same
time deeply revolting.
Our outgoing e-mail read in part:
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In October of 2003, Unlocking Autism began
a dialogue with both the
Republican National Committee and the Democratic
National Committee
to bring the issues of autism to the forefront
of the 2004 Presidential Election.
At the UA Power of 1.5 conference in April
2004, the Disability Grass Roots
Outreach Coordinators from both the RNC and
DNC were invited to explain
to conference attendees where autism fit into
each of the party platforms.
During the conference, we told both parties
that we would shortly be issuing
a questionnaire to both Presidential Candidates
with questions on how they
would handle the issues of the autism community
if elected.
In May 2004, Unlocking Autism sent a copy of
the questionnaire to the
Chairman of each party, the Disability Grassroots
Outreach Coordinator of
each party, the Chairman of each campaign
and the Disability Policy Advisor
for each campaign. A final deadline
of 90 days post administration of the
questionnaire was established giving each
party and campaign a full
opportunity to respond.
One candidate met the deadline and one did not.
Unlocking Autism communicated with both parties
on a completely equitable
basis. When we spoke with the RNC or
Bush-Cheney campaign about an issue,
we called and followed up on it with the DNC
or Kerry-Edwards campaign,
and vice versa. All communications were
controlled through one contact so
that there was no opportunity for any political
misappropriation.
Our goal is not to influence political action
or endorse either candidate
but to provide the autism community with responses
from the candidates
on seven consistent concerns that we talk
to parents about on a daily
basis through the Unlocking Autism Call Center.
With a potential of 10,000,000 people of voting
age in this country that
have someone they love in their life with
autism, our community has more
influence than we might think possible if
we would just put it to use.
This is the time that the candidates should
really be paying attention to
issues that are near and dear to the heart
of all Americans.
Our Community cannot remain silent and let
our issues pass on by for
another four years.
Choose your candidate. Volunteer on a campaign. Get involved.
Make a Difference.
To find out more about the questions Unlocking
Autism asked and the answers
we received, visit our website at
http://www.unlockingautism.org/main.asp.
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If you go to that page, you can click the links
and find the 7-page,
thorough and thoughtful response from the Kerry
campaign, and learn
that the Bush campaign did not even bother
to submit a response.
That speaks volumes, in my opinion. These
disgusting ideologues would
whip the (voting) public into a frenzy over a
stem cell, but when it comes
to helping real human beings of the American
persuasion who face
significant real-life challenges, they can't
even be bothered to respond?!?
I'm not surprised--I'm just more convinced than
ever of the utter moral
bankruptcy of this illegitimate, tragically incompetent
junta, and of the
vital importance of GETTING OUT THE VOTE FOR
JOHN KERRY!
Issues like this bring into sharp contrast the
reality that each vote has
tremendous, reaching significance. In November,
your vote can not only
help or harm yourself, but it also affects millions
of your fellow citizens,
some of whom can be significantly disadvantaged
by the results.
It is my opinion that the manner in which we treat
the least fortunate
among us is the touchstone of our societal achievement.
Let's elect an
administration that will help turn our national
priorities back towards
constructive rather than destructive values.
Thanks for all you're doing in support of that
goal, and thanks to all the
readers of Bartcop.com that strive to be living
examples of the sort of
change we want to see happen in our world.
Sincerely,
Tarheel Dan