By Jude Monson, Summit Program Manager
2018 was a surreal year, full of unexpected twists and
turns and of weekly national events. However, as we move
into 2019, Summit would like to give a huge shout-out
to two men, both national leaders, who passed away in
2018, after leaving our world a better place through their
existence!
One man was George H.W. Bush, an American pilot in
World War II who was a hero. He had joined the military at
the age of 18 and returned home to eventually become our
President. This is the President who signed the American’s
with Disabilities Act (ADA) into law on July 26, 1990. He
sat at a table on our White House lawn in solidarity with
2,000 people with disabilities and their families and friends
who were invited to celebrate the landmark law from an
accessible seat or spot to witness this event.
President Bush was surrounded by some of our finest ADA
leaders who had fought for over a decade to explain why
the civil rights law was necessary. A fellow Texan, Justin
Dart, sat next to him in his wheelchair wearing his iconic
black cowboy hat. Justin was both a large business owner
of Tupperware and a super-advocate of the ADA. Justin
had traveled to all 50 states to rally people with disabilities
to write and share their stories about how hard it was to
secure and maintain employment in America. The two
Texans had become friends over the years, had both came
from families of wealth and prestige, and both personally
believed what is good for one American is good for all
Americans! Also at the table was Evan Kemp, Chairperson
of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
(EEOC). Standing were Sandy Parrino, Chairperson of the
National Council on Disability (NCD) and the Rev. Harold H
Wilke, who used his feet to write.
In December, when President Bush’s multiple memorial
services were shown on TV and the social media, my
favorite vision was Sully, his well-trained service dog, lying
in vigil by his casket. It reminded me of the story of Shep
of Montana lore. President Bush had acquired Parkinson’s
disease in his last years, after his wife Barbara had passed
away. He had secret service agents and his family for
company, but the love and dedication of a service dog is
worth remembering. President Bush had named this dog
after his hero, the famous Captain Sully, a lifelong pilot
who had saved everyone aboard when he performed an
emergency landing on the Hudson River. We know that
“safe and sound” isn’t always a reality for all of our friends
and family with disabilities, but the ADA has given us
HOPE! Thank you, President George H.W. Bush for a job
well done!
Summit also wants to recognize Senator John McCain
of Arizona. He was our hero in 2017 when he came to
the US Senate floor with the final vote on eliminating
Affordable Care Act. Many worried that the Republican
Senator would follow party lines and eliminate the law.
Having been a POW in the Vietnam era, he had chosen to
stay in the prison camp with his servicemen, even when
given the chance to come home after his captors learned
that his father was a US military commander. As a true
leader, he chose to endure the challenges and torture
and ultimately returned with a disability. He did so as a
more determined and stronger person, who in his last
years, while diagnosed with cancer, voted to support the
Affordable Care Act. Many American’s were shouting out
a huge WHOOP at that moment! When John McCain died
in 2018, he too was memorialized as an elder Senator in
his own state of Arizona as well as in Washington DC. The
Senator had planned his own funeral services in which
he shared his own belief in America through his daughter,
Meghan, who said, “My father believed America has
always been great and will always be great!” Through this
man and through his daughter’s statement at his funeral, I
once again found HOPE in an unexpected person in 2018!
As a women who will always be a proud American and
Montanan, and as one who has experienced invisible
disabilities, I want to say we are all warriors and leaders.
I respect the women and men who fought for disability
rights and health legislation, continue to improve our
policies by fighting the good fight! Looking ahead to 2019,
I remind all Montanans of the need to rise up once again
and share your stories about life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness from the viewpoint of living & working well with
our disabilities. Our HOPE lies in being equal partners in
our homes, communities, the workforce, and the life force
of Montana and America!
Please join us in proactively speaking up, writing, sending pictures
and social media messages, and traveling in person to the
Montana legislative session starting January 7th in Helena.
You can follow legislative bills’ progress online or join Summit’s
Action Alert System at: https://www.summitilc.org or
