by Christopher Gray
Nearly 50 years ago, John Kennedy, later to become president of the United States, wrote a book of inspiration and hope to Americans and all people throughout the world. Many of you will remember it or the television series it spawned. Both are titled “Profiles in Courage.”
Many of the stories from that book have stayed with me over the years. The ideals and the principled actions of the books’ protagonists are true models for greatness, tangible yardsticks by which to assess the true value of leaders as they emerge or disappear in the course of our lives.
In writing his book, John Kennedy was inclined to choose individuals from his particular spheres of activity: the military and the political. In this article, and in a far smaller way, the hope and the idea for this article is to focus on a few profiles in courage that have come to pass during the past year within the world of blind people. When compared to those in the world at large, perhaps any of these profiles fall short of true greatness. But then again, perhaps not. You be the judge.
Perhaps the place to start is by profiling in brief the person and her action that provided the seeds of inspiration for this article. Her first involvement in ACB was as a high school student in 1972. She has held many positions in our organization, some prestigious and others that were just plain hard work. She is active in both state and special-interest affiliates. Her record of accomplishments is significant. However, in the past year, that record transferred itself from significant to exemplary to ACB through her actions. In part her action is so notable because it occurred externally to ACB. Also, it is exemplary because, though entirely in line with ACB’s position on the matters involved, this action placed its taker in an extreme minority, never a comfortable place to sit or stand.
I’m talking about ACB’s representative to and chairman of the Braille Authority of North America, Kim Charlson. In March of this year, Kim found herself chairing the North American delegation at the International Council on English Braille. As chair of that delegation, Kim was required to cast the delegation’s vote. That majority vote stood in opposition to ACB’s policy as adopted by the membership by resolution. In casting that vote, she indicated at the same time her opposition to the action on behalf of the American Council of the Blind. In and of itself, this may be a small thing. It changed nothing, and an action was taken to the likely substantial detriment of braille as a means of literacy for the blind. But to us in ACB, this action speaks out with volume and clarity to the merits of our appointed representatives being willing to hold their integrity to the organization and make our views known to the world outside our organization.
It takes courage to stand up and be counted as a part of a losing minority, something Kim clearly demonstrated by her clear and public statement. Hats off to Kim for her representation of ACB’s beliefs, regardless of the difficulties in doing so.
Kim’s example demonstrates the importance of commitment as a guiding principle: commitment to ideals. Another invaluable commitment is to the need for action. The second profile is of an individual who absolutely espoused this commitment during April 2004. He has been known as a doer in our organization for many years and as a committed and well-spoken advocate. He is also known as a man with a good business head on his shoulders, particularly so in the state of Illinois. In April, he stepped out far ahead of any of these accolades. In fact, there is no telling exactly how many steps were involved as John Gordon chose to make a protest walk from Chicago to Springfield, Ill. in opposition of state actions that were destroying the blind vending program in that state. John walked alone, except for his white cane, approximately 150 miles over unknown terrain and mostly on the shoulder of a major highway. The walk took eight days. Spotters warned him via cell phone of upcoming construction sites and other potential hazards. Nearing the end of the journey, he was compelled to cut most of the bottoms from his shoes in order to combat blistering and extreme soreness of his feet.
To take such a walk at all makes a strong statement. For a totally blind person to make it alone is, to many, approaching the incomprehensible. The accompanying press and television coverage shows us the importance and legitimacy of John’s amazing act. The busloads of supporters and their communications with Illinois state officials, including the governor, carry forward the action by an individual to the ability for an organization to act in ways that would not have been possible without this amazing and noteworthy personal contribution by John Gordon.
The subject of my third and final profile is a younger member of ACB, now in his mid-20s. He’s president of the California Alliance of Blind Students and treasurer of the National Alliance of Blind Students. He’s active in his local state affiliate chapter, and is a full-time graduate student at Sacramento State, majoring in business communications. I met him at dinner one evening during the legislative seminar in March in Washington, D.C. It was after our dinner together, however, that I came to learn, from a different individual, of Gabe Griffith’s commitment to humanity and his personal example of the love we can bear toward one another.
Gabe and his girlfriend are both blind: him from a childhood retinal disorder; Becky from juvenile onset diabetes. Becky also has had the misfortune of losing complete kidney function due to diabetes. For many years, she lived with a transplanted kidney. Last year, her immune system began to reject the kidney. The realities of this loss for Becky were life-altering, and so began the process of searching for a possible replacement kidney.
You can probably guess what might transpire over a period of many months in 2003. Gabe tells me that once he understood the situation, thought it over, and decided he wanted to be Becky’s kidney donor if possible, he experienced no real doubt from the moment of that decision onward; maybe some apprehension (and who wouldn’t), but never doubt. “I just felt this was something I could do for somebody I care about very much, and that’s really all there was to it for me in the end,” he explained in a recent phone conversation.
Blood tests, medical exams, EKGs, and several discussion sessions later, Gabe’s tissue was determined to be as good a match for Becky as they are for one another. The surgery date was scheduled, and then rescheduled, to fit the vagaries of hospital protocol in our time. Finally, early on the morning of December 24, 2003, Gabe donated and Becky received a kidney. One event occurred immediately after the other. “This was the time,” Gabe recalled, “when I might have felt some concern about what I’d done. I felt pretty awful for a while because of how radically my body reacted at first. I couldn't help but wonder if I’d feel like myself again! When I was able to make the short walk to Becky’s room and see how well, how much better, she was doing than before the surgery, I knew things would turn out great.”
Indeed, things seem to have turned out absolutely GREAT! By the time you read this in “The Braille Forum,” Becky will have graduated from college. Gabe is back to his cherished five-mile swims, though this has taken some time. It’s hard even to believe they both went back to school in January, let alone anything else.
Only a few of us may have the opportunity in our lives to make such a contribution; even fewer choose to embrace that opportunity. Gabe’s is an act of particular poignancy because practically all of us within the blind community know blind people who have secondary disabling conditions. Perhaps of greatest note is that this is a decision that transcends the microcosm of blind people and speaks to each of our places in the world at large and to how our contributions are a part of that world and the contribution itself is the greater for being so. Gabe’s, as with all who make such a donation, is a largely selfless act in that he experienced personal loss for intangible gain. It’s abundantly clear from our conversations that he hasn’t approached life in this way, and there's probably a lesson in that as well.
So, there you have it: three profiles of people and events, all of which have happened since the holiday season of 2003. Each of the three people mentioned here are shapers, true creators, of the world we live in as blind people today, each in their own important way. Here are three individuals to whom we can look for inspiration and guidance in doing the right thing personally and organizationally.
Perhaps over time, other similar profiles can be presented within these pages. For example, I would like to share the story of Sadiq Al-Maliki, president of the National Association for the Care of the Blind in Iraq. He is fighting almost single-handedly to preserve any assistance for the blind at all in Iraq. Certainly, here is a story that transcends military action or political agendas. Or how about the story of Xu Xing Xian of the People’s Republic of China, who translates articles from “The Braille Forum” into Chinese for presentation in a magazine entitled “Blind Monthly?” I feel certain there is a profile, perhaps many, waiting to be told.
Only by looking outward can we see most clearly what needs to be done and find the best examples of how to do it. Most often, turning inward leads to little but feelings of dissatisfaction or despair. By these three examples and the many more that exist in the world, let us strive to achieve the most that we can, individually and collectively. We can only see from these profiles how possible such achievements can be.