The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was enacted in July 1990. This bipartisan landmark legislation was significant in helping protect and enable those with disabilities to participate more fully in daily activities while enhancing a civil society.
While improving accessibility and inclusion is the bill's primary objective, how does it enhance societal civility?
First, what is the ADA? According to Wikipedia, the ADA is "a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability, including discrimination in hiring, firing, job training, compensation, and advancement. The ADA applies to private employers, employment agencies, labor unions, and state and local governments with 15 or more employees. It also requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees with disabilities and imposes accessibility requirements on public accommodations."
How does it promote a civil society?
✅ Improves our Quality of Life. Having accessible sidewalk ramps, gradient ramps to buildings, automated doors, and accessible transportation helps someone in a wheelchair and another pushing a stroller.
✅ Enhances our Collective Empathy. Those with disabilities have become more visible. A friend told me she was driving in a snowstorm, and a woman in a wheelchair was trying to cross a road. The snow prevented her from getting traction, so my friend got out of her car and helped safely push the woman to the other side. Beautiful!
✅ Protects those with Physical AND Mental Disabilities from Discrimination. According to the EEOC, the conditions covered are comprehensive and include amputation, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, bipolar disorder, blindness, cancer, cerebral palsy, deafness, diabetes, epilepsy, HIV/AIDS, intellectual disability, major depressive disorder, mobility impairments requiring a wheelchair, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and schizophrenia.
The potential impact of this coverage is staggering. According to the 2022 American Community Survey, 44.1 million people in the US civilian noninstitutionalized population, or 13.4%, have a disability.
The ADA is a quintessentially American bill. It strives for inclusion and promotes enabling people to attend school and participate in the workforce.
According to a report by McKinsey, America ranks fifth in the world for the most disabled-friendly countries (the Netherlands ranks first). Yet, we still have much work to do, e.g., as of May 2024, only 31% of the New York City Subway's 472 stations are accessible to some extent.
Everyone should do their part to recognize those with disabilities and, where appropriate, ask if they need help before stepping in. Some individuals may prefer to do things independently.
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Michael Benedict published his first book, The Civil Society Playbook: A Commonsense Plan for a Return to Civility, in 2024. His career spans 25+ years in senior-level marketing positions at Fortune 1000 companies, tech startups, and marketing consultancies. His book covers areas of incivility that are not frequently discussed in the media. It offers solutions - actions - that anyone, regardless of age, can implement to improve civility in all aspects of society. He can be reached at michaelbbenedict@gmail.com. The book is available on Amazon, Apple Books, and Audible.
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