The International Day for People with a Disability is coming up soon. What a party that will be. I can see it now. A tickertape parade down the High Street, State receptions, banquets, the naming of suburbs and national parks after the cripples. Wow! I can hardly wait. But I guess that’s what I’ll have to do.
While I have no objection to the notion of "world day of …’s", you’ve got to ask yourself, "what do they achieve?". Sure, they do raise our consciousness about a particular issue – if they get good PR and make page 1, 2, 3, or 4 of the papers. They allow those who struggle to get together and support each other and they provide, at the least, a fluffy filler for the end of the nightly TV news.
The real "world day of …" I cant wait for is the "World Day of Ostentatious Wealth and Power". During this day the wealthy will be freely able to pursue their own aims. They will have unhindered access to rich foods, fine wines and the best seats at the concerts. They will be able to call on government support and police protection if the rabble gets rowdy and will, due to the generosity of those less fortunate than themselves, not have to pick up the tab.
Due to the fact that most of the people taking part will have to fly to the events held in their honour, the aviation authorities will waive all security checks for those flying first and business class. No need for these people to remove their belts, take off their $2,500 shoes, no need to open that case or empty their pockets. No. These people are the ones who make it possible for the rest of us to do whatever it is we do. And we should not forget that.
The governments of all states and territories will host banquets in honour of the wealthy and powerful. They will book out the largest convention and exhibition centres and put on a fabbo spread. This free dinner will feature performances by pop stars (old and new) and raffles in which prizes will include overseas holidays, new cars and tickets to the corporate boxes at the footy.
The Prime Minister and his Cabinet members will attend a function in Canberra where the most wealthy and powerful will gather for a $1500 a head dinner (fully paid for by a grant from the newly created ‘Department of Wealth Development and Security’). The 500 guests will be treated to an entree of Canadian Salmon in Lemon Grass Sauce, choice of prime Oklahoma beef (flown in fresh that morning by the chef) or fresh South African Chicken (imported live and killed only hours before the event thanks to a special deal with AQIS.) Desert will be an Egyptian Strawberry sorbet followed by freshly ground Columbian coffee or sweet tea brewed from the finest Tibetan leaves. Californian and French wines and imported beers will be served all evening.
The dinner will be topped off by addresses from the members of Cabinet who will speak on the theme of "Wealth, Health and Prosperity: Glad I got it all". It is expected that the Prime Minister will use the occasion to announce the final plank in his tax reform agenda. The expected policy will see the top tax rate for those whose income exceeds $150k to be capped at 5%. However, to compensate for this impost, a whole raft of new concessions will be introduced. These are rumoured to include toll exemption on all private tollways for those travelling in BMW’s, Mercs and Jags, free interstate flights if pursuing a "tourism agenda" and total exemption from all stamp and other duties when buying or selling anything that might attract those fees. It is expected that the announcement will be warmly received.
Of course, this will never happen. Will it? Those whose lives are unencumbered by disability and whose good fortune has allowed them to assume positions of power and influence are not so stupid as to allow such a display of their position to occur. Or are they?
Now that the election is over I wonder how long it will be before we see pictures of John or Mark or Peter or Simon getting down and ‘dirty’ with a bunch of homeless people or single mums attending a short course on budgeting. Oh, sorry, I forgot … we didn’t see those images during the election anyway. Well, how about we hear a government announcement that says, ‘we don’t care what your disability is, if you want to work in an enterprise, we will subsidise your placement so you can have a meaningful role to play in your community’. But no. I don’t think this will occur.
The reason the wealthy and powerful don’t need a "world day of …" is that every day is theirs. They already enjoy the benefits of being celebrated, remembered, foregrounded and feted. Just look at the so-called "news" papers and TV and radio programs. What are our most popular ones? The ones that feature ostentatious displays of wealth, privilege and power. What counts as news? When Nicole buys an new $20 million dollar house on Sydney Harbour? When Delta is spied hooking up with some other bloke? When Pamela gets a new pair of boobs?
We are told that Sex and the City, CSI Miami and Law and Order are the most watched TV series and that John Laws and Alan Jones are the most listened to radio jocks. What do all these have in common? They provide us with distractions from the mundane-ity of the existence of everyday life and nothing is more mundane that the daily routine of living with a disability.
Last weekend I had the opportunity to visit Australia’s Miami, the Gold Coast. One evening during a wander through the streets of Surfers, amongst the Schoolies, Toolies and the fast, flashy, beautiful men and women and their toys, I walked past a mum and her little boy on a bench in Orchid Avenue. The little boy was lying down amusing himself something was holding. His mum sat next to him, slightly bent over and she to was holding something. As I got closer I realised that this little boy’s mother was tube feeding him. But not orally. Here in the middle of the flashiest addresses in the country, among the wealth, glitz and glamour was a little bit of mundane-ity. I was almost going to go up to them and chat. But then I realised I had nothing to say. "Hi. Hungry little bugger isn’t he?" would not have been a suitable introduction. So I wandered on wondering who they were and how they coped.
This short encounter with a little boy and his mum, sitting like an island of reality and sanity in a sea of hyper-unreality and insanity, brought me crashing back to the moment. Here was a child so used to the routine of disability he was able to innocently lie on a bench and fiddle with a toy while his mum pumped nourishment directly into his stomach. What had they endured? What physical pain had he known? What emotional pain had she borne? Will they ever be on the front page, celebrated as stars and receiving ridiculous offers of sponsorship? I don’t think so.
There is nothing wrong with "world day of …’s". They can allow a short insight into the way the ‘other half’ live. To me the challenge is not to just gain insight, but to act to change the situation so that little boys with stomach tubes and their mums can work to achieve whatever it is their life goals are. While the wealthy and powerful are not so stupid as to announce the "World Day of Ostentatious Wealth and Power" it is hard to argue that, in fact, we allow it continue unabated 365 days a year. Perhaps, for one day at least, we can spare a thought for little boys, their mums and the dreams they hold. Maybe we could even try and help them achieve their dreams. But then again, its 8:30pm and Las Vegas is about to start. Maybe next year.