NEWSPEAK-SPEAKERS, READ! HUMANS, HELP!

I am a cripple, having been paralyzed in an auto accident 7 years ago, and confined to a wheelchair since. There are thousands of us out there now who believe this is the only proper word to describe our affliction. Spinal cord injury is, without exaggeration, about the worst thing that can happen to a person short of death. Yet the media continue to push the "happy cripple syndrome," portraying people in wheelchairs as being at worst just slightly inconvenienced. That is why terms like "handicapped" and "disabled" are really more offensive, because they downplay the very serious consequences of paralysis. (Lately it has become fashionable to call us "people in wheelchairs"¾ as if we had a choice, or we preferred them to walking!).

Of what interest is this to your readers? First, it is another illustration of how Newspeak has been adopted by the media. Second, they should realize that large amounts of tax dollars are being wasted on such projects as outfitting public buses with (dangerous and seldom-used) wheelchair lifts. Believers in true free enterprise will not be surprised that government spending to "help the handicapped" is largely detrimental, because it siphons off money that might otherwise be used in a really constructive way¾finding a cure.

Over the last few years, thousands of us cripples have joined together to form the Spinal Cord Society (SCS). We desire neither pity nor government handout. Instead, we are actually out there actively raising money and supporting research to find a cure for paralysis. Our motto, "Cure¾not Care," illustrates our frustration with government, media, and established medical attitudes. The chance for cure in the not too distant future is good, if the available resources are spent wisely, not wasted on projects which only make the liberal do-gooders feel better.