The following statement “while grievance regarding medical issues can be addressed in a democratic society, no such avenue is available in a genocidal totalitarian regime such as the Nazi Third Reich” is made harshly clear and true through the novels The disability Movement: From Charity to Confrontation written by Doris Zames Fleischer and Frieda Zames and through the book The Nazi Doctors written by Jay Lifton. Years ago, people frowned away from people with disabilities and saw them as either a burden or less of a person. However these grievances regarding medical issues were addressed and spectacular progress has been made ever since.
The first book The Disability Rights Movement specifically talks about people with disabilities and such hardships they face with having a disability. The book further mentions how light was shed on people with disabilities and how grievance regarding medical issues were addressed in a democratic society through various programs that provide aide and support emotionally and physically. Grievances regarding medical issues can be addressed in a democratic society through laws and organizations. For example numerous organizations and Acts were mentioned in the book such as March of Dimes, Americans with Disability Act, and the League of the Physically Handicapped. The League of the Psychically Handicapped was revolutionary since this organization was the first well known organization nationally that demanded rights and shed light to those with disabilities.
This organization represented disabilities in general rather than specific ones like parentinitiated childhood disability. Initially the parent-initiated childhood disability organization focused on specific type of disability. This situation with disability was addressed by Franklin D. Roosevelt who happened to have a disability as well. Franklin D. Roosevelt himself suffered from a disability such as polio. Rather than seeing this as negative and frowned upon by the public, Franklin D Roosevelt’s disability was seen as moral boost. The president of the greatest country in the world was ran by a man with a disability. This showed that a disability does not hinder people from achieving success or their goals. Not only did Franklin D Roosevelt take part in providing help to the people with disability. Former President George Bush has also played a role in helping people with disability and helping organizations for people with disabilities.
Besides having spent his formative years with an uncle, his mother's brother John, who used a wheelchair as a result of polio, 34President Bush had three children with Disabilities. His daughter died of leukemia when she was three years old; one of his sons had a colostomy after part of his colon was removed in 1986, while another son is dyslexic.35 Parrino recalls
Representative Coelho's comment: "George Bush does not get enough credit for the ADA. Ifhe hadn't wanted it, we wouldn't have had it. He made it very clear that he wanted that bill on his desk at some point in time, and he wanted to sign it."36 Like President Bush, Representative Coelho (who has epilepsy), Senators Weicker (R-Conn.) and Harkin, and Representative Hoyer (who have family members with disabilities), are examples of political figures with intimate knowledge of disability who played an active role in the passage of the ADA” (92 Fleischer). This shows that more than one president and official suffered from a disability and wanted to shed more light on the topic.
References:
Lifton, Robert Jay. The Nazi Doctors: Medical Killing and the Psychology of Genocide. New York:
Basic, 1986. Print.
Fleischer, Doris Zames., and Frieda Zames. The Disability Rights Movement: From Charity to
Confrontation. Philadelphia: Temple U, 2011.