Being upright can be about more than standing erect. It can also signify a person’s strong moral righteousness or integrity.
On June 17, Missouri’s senior U.S. senator, Republican Josh Hawley retweeted fake reporting that President Joe Biden’s campaign was attempting to renegotiate last week’s presidential debate rules to allow Biden to be seated.
Hawley’s comment with the retweet on X read: “He (Biden) can’t stand for 90 minutes — but he’s 100% able to be President? Have fun explaining that.”
I guess Hawley forgot about the 32nd and longest-serving President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt, who used a wheelchair after being afflicted with polio.
Roosevelt led the country through The Great Depression as well as World War Two. Assuming our history texts are correct, FDR seemed to do a fine job in leading Americans through those crises.
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To be clear, Hawley retweeted a piece of disinformation. And his distasteful remarks have little or nothing to do with whether a president can only do his job if he is able to stand for 90 minutes.
No, his tone was diminishing. As a parent of a child with a disability, and a constituent of Hawley’s, I found this highly offensive.
In an effort to change directions and head toward the higher road, allow me to introduce three outstanding and accomplished individuals whose disabilities are not holding them back from taking steps to build up our society rather than tear us down.
On Sept. 16, 2008, U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer Romulo “Romy” Camargo was deployed to Afghanistan. While on a humanitarian mission, Camargo’s detachment was brutally ambushed. He was severely wounded after sustaining a gunshot wound to the back of the neck, paralyzing him from the neck down.
Camargo’s fellow soldiers were able to repel the attack and the team’s medic ran to Camargo and performed an emergency tracheotomy. They were able to get him out alive and he was transferred to Germany, then to Walter Reed Hospital and then completed his recovery two hours from his home in Orlando, Florida.
In 2015 Romy and his wife Gaby opened Stay in Step Spinal Cord Injury Recovery Center based in their hometown of Tampa, where they “Change Lives One Step At a Time.” The Stay in Step Center’s goals are not only to provide rehabilitation facilities for those suffering from a spinal cord and/or traumatic brain injury, stroke, or any other neurological disorder resulting in paralysis and also to provide tools, resources, and support to caregivers.
From all accounts, Camargo was lucky to survive. His stamina brought him to a place where he now helps others and their families learn to live again.
Chuck Aoki, 33, has used a wheelchair for most of his life due to a genetic condition called hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathies type II, which results in him not having feeling in his body below the knees and elbows.
Aoki is a three-time Paralympic medalist winning two silver medals and one bronze in wheelchair rugby.
Aoki shared with NBC Sports that he did not have any role models that looked like him while he was growing up but he has worked hard to find his voice and speak up on how important adaptive sports are to disabled individuals.
“The reality is what’s happened to you has happened and you can’t control that anymore,” he said. “But what you can control is the next thing you do, the next step you take, and the next action you take in making your life a little bit better.”
Because of Aoki’s willingness to share his accomplishments and positivity, children with disabilities have a mentor and someone to look up to.
Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois is an Iraq War Veteran, Purple Heart recipient and one of the first handful of Army women to fly combat missions during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Duckworth was deployed to Iraq as a Blackhawk helicopter pilot for the Illinois Army National Guard. On November 12, 2004, her helicopter was hit by an RPG and she lost her legs and partial use of her right arm. She spent a year recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
After Duckworth recovered, she became an advocate for her fellow soldiers. She went on to be the Director of the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs, where she helped create a tax credit for employers that hire Veterans, established a first-in-the-nation 24/7 Veterans crisis hotline, and developed innovative programs to improve Veterans’ access to housing and health care.
Duckworth served as Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs and was elected to the U.S. House in 2013 and the U.S. Senate in 2016.
Not only was Duckworth a hero on the battlefield, she continues to champion the rights of veterans and families.
Sen. Hawley could certainly learn a thing or two from Camago, Aoki and Duckworth, who all willingly share their abilities while helping others.
Schmidt is a Post-Dispatch columnist and Editorial Board member. SchmidtOpinions@gmail.com. On X: @SchmidtOpinions.