ADA has goals worthy of all of America's citizens

Few Nebraskans favor government regulations of any type, but this, the 21st anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, is an appropriate time to look at the role of the disabled in our society.

As anyone who has been involved in a building project since July 26, 1990, knows, the ADA is a broad civil rights law that prohibits most discrimination based on disability.

It was designed to keep Americans with disabilities involved in public policy, employment, scientific and medical research and even space exploration.

ADA provisions prohibit discrimination against a "qualified individual with a disability;" by all public entities at the local and state level; on the basis of disability to the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities or accommodations of any place of pulic accommodation; in telecommunications (requiring technology such as TTY, TDDs or Internet-based systems); and others.

How many people benefit from the ADA?

According to the Census Bureau, 36 million Americans, about 12 percent of us, have some sort of a disabilty, 12.3 percent of females, 18.8 percent of people in West Virginia (the highest state), 8.9 percent in Utah (the lowest), 10.2 million with hearing difficulty, 6.5 million with a visual disability, 13.5 million with difficulty concentrating, remembering or making decisions, and 19.4 million walking or climbing stairs.

Six percent of disabled workers use public transporation to commute to work, 70 percent drive alone, 13 percent carpool, 4 percent walk and 3 percent use a taxi, motorcycle, bicycle or other means.

Twenty-two percent of disabled workers work in the educational services and health care and social assistance industries. Twenty-one percent of the population is below the poverty level.

Who has disabilities? Probably someone you know; someone all of us know.

For instance, Abraham Lincoln suffered from depression; Bruce Willis and Julia Roberts stuttered as children, Donald Sutherland had polio, JFK had asthma and various other diseases, Albert Einstein probably had Asperger's syndrome, Agatha Christie, Einstein and Cher had dyslexia, and many famous people had visual impairment.

Officials and taxpayers can be heard to grumble at the prospect of meeting ADA requirements on public buildings, but none of us would want to deprive someone with the potential to be an successful actor, scientist or political leader the chance to participate fully in our society.

Yes, meeting ADA requirements can sometimes be inconvenient and expensive.

But not as expensive as preventing talented people who happen to have a disability from contributing to the betterment of their fellow citizens.