"Disability is not a 'brave struggle' or 'courage in the face of adversity'... disability is an art. It's an ingenious way to live."
- Neil Marcus
"I'm tired of well meaning noncripples with their stereotypes of what I can and cannot do directing my life and my future. I want cripples to direct their own programs and to be able to train other cripples to direct new programs. This is the start of something big -- cripple power."
from a 1970 letter by Ed Roberts to Gini Laurie
"… for the first time in history, man has the real power to overcome poverty. We have proved that by the wise application of modern technology, the determined labor of skilled men and women can ultimately produce enough food and clothing and shelter for all mankind. The possession of new abilities gives us new responsibilities and we want to live up to those responsibilities."
President Lyndon B. Johnson
“Empowerment is part psychological, part social, and part political. It is the process by which individuals define their own voice, develop their own plans, act on their own behalf, and claim their own power. Empowerment means more than having responsibility, but also having the authority and ability to make one's own choices. In the process, it requires hard work and sacrifice."
"The paramount goal of the United States… is to guard the rights of the individual, to ensure his development, and to enlarge his opportunity… Our enduring aim is to build a nation and help build a world in which every human being shall be free to develop his capacities to the fullest. We must rededicate ourselves to this principle and thereby strengthen its appeal to a world in political, social and economic and technological revolution."
Canham, Conant, Darden, Greenwalt, Gruenther,
Hand, Kerr, Killian, Meany, Pace and Wriston
The Eisenhower Commission on Goals for Americans
"A society good for disabled people is a better society for all. All of us know that this is true. Let us use our insight to convince others!"
"The marvelous thing about American freedom is the opportunity it provides for all groups to empower themselves."
"…despite progress, we are still pursuing the very heart of life, liberty, and happiness.' What is that heart? It is the communal norm that people with mental retardation will be of, not just in, our communities, that in every way they will be part of our communities."
"The efficacy of the independent living concept is being proven each day by more and more severely disabled individuals as they choose to assume the responsibilities of directing their own lives and as they become active participants in the mainstream of life in their communities."
"It is the right and the responsibility of disabled people (of all oppressed people) to redefine themselves (their identities and their values) as opposed to accepting the definitions imposed by our oppressors."
"Be the change you want to see in the world."
Mahatma Gandhi
"Shine your light…our society really needs you now."
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
Martin Luther King
The basic things expected by our people of their political and economic systems are simple. They are: Equality of opportunity for youth and for others. Jobs for those who can work. Security for those who need it. The ending of special privilege for the few. The preservation of civil liberties for all.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt
"People with disabilities are becoming empowered to make choices and control their own lives. It's about freedom and becoming independent. This is the time for people with capabilities of all kinds to come to the table. We need to reach out to all Americans to work together for the new millennium."
"Over the last century, our lives as disabled people have improved because we have fought for our rights. We have refused to allow people to crush our dreams. While our victories have been great, we have much further to go. True equality will be obtained only when all disabled people create and fulfill their dreams, and fight for the rights of all."
"This is essentially a people's contest. On the side of the Union, it is a struggle for maintaining in the world that form … of government, whose leading object is to elevate the condition of people - to lift artificial weights from their shoulders … to afford all, an unfettered start, and a fair chance in the race of life."
Abraham Lincoln
