In defense of her decision to move forward with impeachment last December, House Speaker quoted Benjamin Franklin who replied to an inquiry about the nature of government laid out in the newly adopted Constitution,  “A republic, if we can keep it.”  On a day when the electoral college will affirm the selection of Joe Biden as the next president of the United States, I think there is an even more appropriate message from a less well known figure.

The year was 1991.  Among my responsibilities as a policy director at the National Governors Association was helping states implement the Americans with Disabilities Act which passed the previous year.  In that role, I was often invited to meetings of the National Council on Disabilities, established by President George H. W. Bush.  My introduction to the group was a session in the Treaty Room in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building (then known simply as the Old Executive Office Building).  The chairwoman was the1982 Ms. Wheelchair America  from Maryland Marian Schooling-Vessels.

The topic that day was accelerating compliance, especially accessibility.  There was general agreement among the Council members this was among the thornier issues because it involved money, the cost of adding ramps, elevators and, in some cases, total reconstruction of public facilities to accommodate those who could not maneuver in narrow corridors or around sharp corners.  While the 1990 act included fines for non-compliance, the Council felt persuasion was a better path to follow.  Get public officials to make the necessary changes, not because they had to, but because it was the right thing to do.

But how?  What was the message?  It was then Ms. Schooling-Vessels presented an argument which has stuck with me for 30 years which I can only paraphrase here.

In the past, we have asked people, “Imagine you were disabled.  Put yourself in our shoes.”  But the truth is they WILL be in our shoes.  They look at us and see a disabled person.  We need to remind them we look at them and see a “temporarily abled” person.

On this day, when the electors cast their votes for the next president we must remember America has been and always will be a “temporary democracy.”  The time has come for Americans to stop referring to autocracies  as though they were politically and morally disabled.  Or that they are entities we need to accommodate so that we can co-exist.  Instead, we need to prepare for a time when other democracies might look at the United States and say, “Who could imagine such a healthy republic would become so politically disabled?  How do we restructure alliances (as though they were non-accessible facilities) to accommodate this new reality?”

Some believe the last four years were that time and today’s electoral conclave is the beginning of political and moral rehabilitation.  But unlike the COVID-19 vaccine which is also in the news on this historic day, there is no permanent antidote for disability.  One can go from temporarily abled to disabled and back on multiple occasions over a lifetime.  The same is true for nations.

So the next time you hear a family member, friend or colleague suggest American democracy dodged a bullet in 2020, just add, “This time.”

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP