Spinal Cord Advocates

As you can tell by some of the earlier posts on this site we often get emails from visitors. We also get input from people who have written to their senators and representatives, or as I like to refer to them, “honorables”.

We received one today from a gentleman from Kentucky regarding the horrid rule that allows Medicare to supply people with powered wheelchairs for in the home use only. I know, horrid is such a wimpy word, but hey, I’ve got a boss and he doesn’t always appreciate seeing my street English on a public website.

Anyway, this fine fellow from Kentucky had sent an email to his honorables with his thoughts on this Medicare “In The Home” thing. Near the middle of his email he states that “I know that this is useless but I and others hope that…”

“Useless” seems to be more and more a common theme when talking about influencing the political process. It’s sad that people have been made to feel that their participation in an important American process is “useless”. I can however understand why they do.

I think what people need to get a handle on is critical mass, volume, power in numbers. You always feel better about these things knowing you’re part of a much bigger thing. Although, making these into bigger things seems to be the tough part.

Our legislative process is quite strange and is often frustrating, difficult to understand, boring to many, with the finished product often being a let down instead of a lift up. Yet it does bend and can be swayed if a strong enough wind comes along.

“Useless” is a temporary situation that can change over time. I agree that one small thing like an email to an honorable is useless. You will likely get a canned response brown-nosing you about how important your input is. But what if two people decide to send useless contacts, or three, or four, or… And what if the process of sending useless emails or making useless phone calls is repeated at every step of the legislative process? At some point, when the numbers are overwhelming and can’t be ignored, all of the useless contacts will become useful. Better yet, they will become influential. Now isn’t that the ultimate in usefulness?

Some of our greatest changes have started out as social and political causes that many thought would never make it out from under the Dome- abolition, women’s suffrage, civil rights, and yes, even many of the concepts contained in the Americans With Disability Act.

Most of these causes had to be muscled, bullied, and kicked into legislative play by way of commitment, patience, and large numbers of grassroots supporters. Oh sure, often results were off the mark for starters, but tweeked again, and again, and again, until something real and useful evolved. Yes, in these matters usefulness is about numbers, and time, and tenacity.

Look up and down the trenches when you get a chance. There’s a whole lot of us in there together. Enough to be useful and more than enough to make a difference.

Carry on grassroots America, fight the good fights and go the distance for the things you believe in. We know how to do it. We have done it many times before.

Hey, what do you believe in? What’s your personal cause?
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Ziggi Landsman
VP of Assistive Technology
United Spinal Association