President Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act into law on July 26, 1990. I was less than a year old at the time. An able-bodied baby.
But 28 years later, the bill Bush supported benefitted both himself and the now 29-year-old me in the year 2018. You see, doing the right thing benefits us all, whether now or in the future.
He once said, “Our challenges are great, but our will is greater.” People with disabilities live by that motto every day. And it is because of President Bush’s support of the ADA that we are able to see light at the end of the tunnel.
I hope the leaders and presidents of the future will see the right to equal access as an imperative, so that we can work to include every American, regardless of their abilities. I also hope his legacy will set an example for the rest of the world.
“There was something in the DNA of the Bush family that spoke of service,” said David Gergen, Senior Political Analyst for CNN tonight. Service to our country has the potential to benefit us all, and this war hero, president and disability rights champion is proof-positive of that.
As Bush 41 said in 2009, “Politics does not have to be mean and ugly.” Let us remember that as we honor the life of this American Hero and plot our course for the future.
Thank you, President Bush, for the protections of the ADA.
Please join me in praying for the repose of the soul of President George H.W. Bush and also for the comfort of his family. May he rest in peace.
