[nfbwatlk] Has the blind lost their way or their will?

[Carl Jarvis]

Good evening Bob,
We, both organizations, can get all worked up over this, and several other 
issues.  And we will probably never come to agreement.
But I have a different concern regarding the silence of our organizations.
We appear to be immobilized while our Federal government is running our 
nation into a black hole of debt.  In the name of saving our American Way of 
Life, we are watching funding being drained from critical social programs. 
And that is happening right now.  What will we have when this horrible debt 
comes due?  What wonderful programs will be there for the disabled, elderly 
and disadvantaged?
Even now, Cathy and I are watching prices for aids and appliances for our 
older clients go through the roof.  And the price of traveling from county 
to county is becoming a crippling burden.  Gas today was 3 dollars and 26 
cents per gallon.
When will we blind people get it through our thick heads that we had better 
put our efforts and resources together and fight for our survival?
Hard times are coming for the working class.  And this winter will very 
likely see many elderly and poor and disabled folks die from exposure 
because they can't afford the cost of heating oil.  And where do you think 
most blind people live?  Not in the upper class.  Most of us are one step 
from the street.  One paycheck from disaster.
One of our clients, a 92 year old lady, told Cathy and me, "I hope I die in 
the next two years.  I will run out of money then and I don't know where I 
would go."
We stand on the brink of a great black hole.  And we are kicking pebbles at 
one another while we are sliding toward the lip of disaster.

Carl Jarvis