policy

Hope: the light in the darkness

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Hope is a strong emotion. Hope can guide you into the light, when on a dark path. Hope can provide strength when society demands weakness. Hope is your lighthouse. Hope, is what humans do when we can no longer dream. A dream is to believe. Hope is to believe in faith.

I support my legs, and, my legs support me.

nuknowing quote

the quote/saying above is my faith. No one is better than you to shape your future. In a past blog. I said something like:

Only you can self-manage your conditions, medical or not. I will reach out with open arms in the light but you must take the steps towards the light.

My light

Light, hope, faith. What? For the Open University module A2222 Exploring Philosophy, I was required to write a paper on the philosophy of Religion.

God: the supreme personal being existing beyond the world, creator and ruler of the universe

Religion: a system of belief in and worship of a supernatural, power or god.

Timothy Chappell, 2011, p.8

What is the link between God, Religion, hope, light, and, faith, and contemporary living? A lot. And, nothing. For that same A222 Exploring philosophy module I also had to write a paper on Political Philosophy. As it is political, party conference month I thought I should reflect on our obligation to respect the laws of the state.

Socrates: Leave me then, Crito, to fulfil the will of God, and to follow whither he leads

Our Obligation to Respect the Laws of the State: Plato Crito, Western Philosophy an anthology, 2015, p.626

Am I recommending the state be followed in the same way Socrates would have followed god? No. No, am not. What am recommending is the State should be followed until the point is reached where citizens of the state can no longer dream. What I am recommending to the reader. Is, find your light. and do all you can to hold on to it. Your light. Your principles, values, and, vision are the groundwork for your political philosophy. Remember though the light is not fixed in place.

Do what makes you happy. Not others

My last conference: date?

I become a member of the SNP on, 17 April 2007. To this date, I remain a member of the Glasgow Shettleston branch.

I do not, however, go to branch meetings. Or conferences.

Why? Because the “benefits of greater equality are very widespread” (Wilkinson and Pickett, 2009, p.177).

Am not saying there is, wealth inequality in membership income (most likely is). Am saying I liked the party when after a day of meetings you could have a drink with the cabinet minister in The Royal George Hotel bar.

I was asked not so long ago by a manager, of the charity Who Cares? Scotland. Is starting a social enterprise, something I really wish to do,

given my political/policy background. Am sure my answer was Yes am 100+10 per cent committed to A-LEAF (my social enterprise).

On reflection, I really should have said am want to start A-LEAF to push a political and policy agenda. A-LEAF is apolitical, it will always remain so. Ben Fredman & Craig Carey authors of 4Th Sector Entrepreneurship say a social enterprise’s principles, values, and, vision, are, shaped by the lived experience of their owners.

However, I take the view that the thinking and actions of the owner are shaped by the social enterprise. let me explain A-LEAF’s, vision is that every citizen in society should have dignity. My personal view and the view of the state on Assisted Dying. For the lack of a better word, is, it is wrong. However, dignity must also come in death. Therefore, I have no choice, I have to agree with Scottish Humanists, assisted Dying should be the choice of individual citizens.

As a member of a political party. Or a third-sector organisation I cannot change the parties/organisation’s policy as fast as I can change my mind or amend A-LEAF’s vision. A-LEAF’s vision, values, and, principles are our hopes for citizens and communities in Scotland. I wish to dream not only hope. By walking into the light with A-LEAF I can do just that.

Conclusion

As citizens of societies across the UK. We all need to have hope. Hope for a better tomorrow. We cannot only hope, we must dream. Political parties and political philosophy are not God. Have faith in yourself, in your ideas. Stand up, say and do what makes you happy. Join a community which has your vision, values, and, principles. When your values, and, principles change. Change your community(s).

For me, my vision, values, and, principles are in the fourth sector or social enterprise sector. If yours is in the third sector or political sector, fantastic. Do what makes you happy. please though, do not follow in blind faith.

Where are my Human Rights?

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All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in aspirit of [personhood}

artical one UN Convention on Human Right

The problem is, the United Nations soft law is no more use than the bible when it comes to providing citizens with dignity and rights. There have been more add-ons to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Then acknowledgements from the UK Government that trickle-down economics just does not work. Where are my Human Rights? Perhaps the title of this blog could have been “[did] the free market revolution” (Benerria, 2003, p.3) steel my Human rights? As Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett (2009, p.262) point out “… profit would still lead companies to act in anti-social ways”. While anti-social is in opposition to social enterprise. It is not a breach of Human Rights. Since February 2022 I have been a member of the Scottish Government’s Human rights bill lived experience board. Why? Why am I a board member of the Scottish Government’s Human rights bill lived experience board? Noted above, I make it clear, that the free market is not the cause of Human Rights violations. If I am not a board member of the Scottish Government’s Human rights bill lived experience board to correct the wrongs of the free market. Then I must be on the Scottish Government’s Human rights bill lived experience board to correct the failures of the public sector. There is an add-on question that is outwith the scope of this blog. Is it not the job of the third sector to look after the failures of the public sector?

In 1973 the world economy had become reliant on oil and was facing raw material shortages that were pushing up prices (Banerjee & Duflo 2010, p.146). Not too much has changed. Has it? At this time I what the reader to think about economic and social rights.

The rights to & the rights from

If unpaid activities were valued [1995 prices] at prevailing wages, they would [have] amounted to $16 trillion or about 70 per cent of total world output (Beneria, 2003 p.74)

Gender, Development and Globazation

What sex in society is likely to do unpaid activities? Women. Think about that, not only is the contemporary cost of living crisis an infringement on economic and social rights. It is also an infringement on gender development. At today’s meeting on Disabled people and unpaid carers with third-sector colleagues’, there was a consensus that the cost of living was in breach of economic and social rights. I add here that due to the majority of unpaid carers having xx chromosomes. Women more than men are likely to be hit harder and are more likely to have their human rights violated due to the cost of living crises.

There was also an agreement that the support offered by governments, is not enough to cover the cost of living rises. The view that government support lacks the requirements to mitigate the cost of living crises is supported by The Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland. Who recommended the Scottish Government increase payments to Scottish citizens receving benefits. Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland note there are groups in society, which their recommendations will not help.

As I pointed out in the afternoon’s meeting, additional payments to disabled people and unpaid carers’ is the ethical thing to do.

All I have known is crises

As one of my co-workers said at today’s meeting ” [citizens’]’ health is affected [by this cost of living increase]. However, as pointed out in yesterday’s Human Rights meeting by John (not real name) “as someone born in 2002, all I’ve known is crises. If this is how our young people are feeling. Society has a mental health pandemic coming.

I started this section with the heading the rights to and the rights from. As a citizen of Scotland, you have the right to a fair trial. the right to housing, the right to live in the community, and, the right to food. this post would be longer than my dissertation if I was to go over all the rights.

Scottish Human Rights bill: when?

the short answer. By the end of the parliamentary session. Why not sooner? Well… the Scottish Government are trying to incorporate four international treaties into Scot law. The Government needs to get the bill/act correct, let us give them some time to do just that. As the Scottish government’s civil servant said yesterday

the delay gives more time to get the bill correct

Scottish Government Civil Servant

Conclusion

I have notes for three meetings. I could have written a PhD paper with the quotes I wrote down. However, I want to get this blog published tonight- October 06. I also know that The Scottish Human Rights Commission. The Health and Social care Alliance Scotland. And many other third-sector partners shall publish better blogs and posts than I could write in a few hours. Saving me time, and providing me more sleeping time.

Am going to do something you should never do. Am going to introduce a new topic in the conclusion. What is next for the Scottish Human Rights bill? I have it on good authority the next meeting will be on monitoring. How will we know if the Human Rights Bill is working?

I have a few ideas, however, I would like to hear the reader’s thoughts in the comments.

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Scottish Business Week 2022

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This month shall be paramount in developing A-LEAF going forward. It all starts today with Scottish Business Week 2022. Business, What Business? What am I in Business to do? Well, it is not to build up the funds in my bank account. If increasing my account balance was the goal. I could have continued my hunt for employment with the Scottish Government or Glasgow City Council. No. am in business to build a better me. And, to build resistance in Scottish Communities.

Earlier this morning I found out Rule_ette_out (Darren) win the Alliance Scotland self-management award. Darren offers peer-to-peer support for people struggling with gambling addictions. Darren’s story got me thinking about A-LEAF’s Purpose, Values, and, Vision. Not only A-LEAF’s Purpose, Values, and, Vision but also my own. What makes me the person I am today. What makes me have the Purpose, Values, and, Vision I have today? In another blog post, I concluded that my childhood Medulloblastoma was the reason I am the same person today as the child I once was. Nigel Warburton- writing the textbook ‘The Self for the Open University module A222 Exploring Philosophy, would be so proud of me. I have to amend that conclusion. You see the Entrepreneur genius test says am a Dynamo Genius. What is a Dynamo Genius? It’s me, I just told you that. Dynamo Genius, such as myself, use your Frontal lobe more than other parts of the brain. When the location of the Medulloblastoma in the brain. Being a Dynamo Genius completely makes sense.

Am a dreamer, I have my head in the clouds. I want to save the world one community at a time. Yes, that sounds about right. When Ben Freedman & Craig Carey- authors of 4th Sector Entrepreneurship say fourth sector organisations take on the Purpose, Values, and, Vision of their owners. That is also true. I have still to define A-LEAf’s PVVs. They will be up on the A-LEAF page of the website later today. With the A-LEAF website up ASAP.

On Wednesday I have a meeting with the Scottish Government’s Human rights lived experience board. What I am about to suggest is that Human Rights are the writings of Dynamo Genius. Or you could look at it another way. After World War Two the Frontal lobe of world leaders took over their brains- all world leaders became Dynamo Geniuses.

The fact that everyone can think with their Frontal lobe after a major life-changing event. Opens up the question. Why as societies as Human beings, can we not Upstream?

To stop the cats from drowning in the river, find out why there are so many cats in the river in the first place.

paraphrased from Upstream by Dan Heath

I started this blog off by pointing out it Is Scottish Business week. As a Business leader, to be. I want to put to my colleagues at the Scottish Business week. Should we not be in the business of adding more people to our boards that think with their Frontal lobes?

Scottish Business week portal view.

This would be a good place to end this blog post. However, am not going to do that. Am going to ask a question. Two questions. Question one of two. Given Darren’s exigency to support others. And given we all know someone like Darren. Why is it not all our Business to support the Darren’s in our Scottish communities?

Final question. Wednesday’s Scottish Government’s Human rights lived experience board meeting is on the cost of living. And, given that it is widely known that people who require access to self-directed support have the highest cost of living. Why is it not all our business to reduce the cost of living for
everyone in our Scottish societies?     

Why identity matters.

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A day after this website went live (second time) I had a meeting with my colleague to discuss the next stages for A-LEAF. This website/blog(s) is the launching site for A-LEAF- as well as my personal blog site. My colleague’s reaction was:

I like the website/blog, however, I did not get the ‘person’ vs human, philosophy on the landing page (paraphrased).

Matheson, 2022

After considering my colleague’s intervention I have concluded that there is a requirement for additional clarification on “person” vs human. Homing in on how I see ‘person’ as my identity and human as the physical body. Is any of this making sense? No? okay, let us try a different approach.

Objectively- what can be proven without a doubt. I am the child (human) that was diagnosed with a Medulloblastoma aged four. However, my lived experiences of growing up with the long-term side effects and the barriers to society the Medulloblastoma caused has shaped the ‘person’ I am today. To be clear what am saying is if it was not for the Medulloblastoma I would not have volunteered with Macmillan Glasgow Libraries in 2010. 

This was where the journey started with the third sector in 2010. Never did I think in 2022 I would be weeks off registering my own company after completing my MSc in Social Innovation.

I never would become involved with Cancer Support Scotland‘s child charity Youth Cancer Forum Scotland, I never would have taken an interest in charity law. More importantly, I never would have become a member of Health & Social care Alliance Scotland, Inclusion Scotland, Glasgow Disability Alliance, however, the utmost important connection to the Medulloblastoma childhood diagnosis which lead to volunteering with MacMillian; I would not have completed my MSc in social innovation and I would not be in a position to start a social enterprise today.

so let us consider the question again.

what makes a person the same person despite changes over time?

WARBURTON, 2011

A Medulloblastoma childhood diagnosis makes me the same person over time. I never did get that. I have Dr. Anne Smith for the enlightenment. I thanked Anne for providing me with this insight in my acknowledgments to my dissertation. My thanks are, now on record for the world to see.

Now I know I am the same ‘person’ today. As I was when I was four. The question remains if it was not for social norms and medical models. would I be the same ‘person’ today as I was when I was four? After all, no one in Locke’s time was living thirty-four years after a Medulloblastoma childhood diagnosis.

One last thought. A Ph.D. student once asked me:

“Does studying Social Innovation make you want to start a social enterprise”

Ph.D student, 2020

No, it is not the MSc in Social innovation that makes me want to start A-LEAF. it is the answer to the question:

would removing the inequalities social norms and medical models, result in me becoming a different person from the four-year-old me?

No, It is too late for me! The four-year-old I was in 1987 is the same ‘person’ I am today. The question remains if it was not for social norms and medical models. would I be the same ‘person’ today as I was when I was four?

The answer to this question is important for all childhood cancer patients today.

COP26 and the SDGs

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Previous posts have focused on my identity- who I am. Who I am is shaped by lived experiences. As readers of earlier blog posts will recall am a childhood medulloblastoma survivor and a Social Innovation Masters (MSc) graduate. As an MSc graduate am frustrated, several actors frustrate me. Writing this blog instead of working on my social enterprise frustrates me. Working a dead-end job frustrates me. Dependency on other people frustrates me. What aggravates me presently is COP26- climate conference. COP26 is essential to the survival of the planet. The fact that COP26 is happening and happening in Glasgow is not the source of my aggravation. The source of my aggravation policymakers are talking and not acting. Additionally am extremely frustrated via the inability or denial of policymakers to accept free-market capitalism as the source of climate change. Furthermore, my aggravation is exemplified via the ploy to use children as a social marketing tool as a last resort because policymakers are too spineless to regulate the free markets.      

The preceding posts took a non-academic writing style. This post, however, shall follow academic best practices. The literature in this blog is informed principally from two Open University modules Doing Economics: People, Markets and Policy and International Relations: Continuity and Change in Global Politics. I have not completed any additional academic research into climate. My knowledge of the subject is second hand or indirect learning.

The main reason for this post is my webpage on the SDGs has been receiving numerous hits in the past few days. Providing readers with clarification on my position on the SDGs was an obligation. I support the UN SDGs. No one should be surprised by that revelation. My first exposure to the SDGs evades me. 2019 the date I started studying Social Innovation with Glasgow Caledonian University possibly. While I have no memory of my first academic paper to reference the SDGs, vividly I recall my introduction to international law and the UN. Brown 2014, p. 60 proposes the UN oversee a “range [of] highly formalised diplomacy”.  Brown’s definition runs parallel to what Green says in his ted talk in 2015. Green focuses on the UN millennium goals, principally the reduction of global poverty. Providing evidence that global poverty in 2015 was 12 per cent of the world’s population, however, Green champions poverty reduction by praising economic growth. I have already said I have no academic background in C02. However, data provided by our world in data shows atmospheric concentrations of CO2  have continued to rise. I, therefore, suggest an increase in CO2 emissions is a negative externality of economic growth.

 Yesterday I tweeted asking why

“Has COP26 resulted in everyone becoming so interested in climate action?”

Howie, 2021. 

The answer may lay in Welfare economics.

The relationship between human welfare and different ways of making social choices

Anand, 2014, p. 407

Anand goes on to suggest that

Welfare economics is interested in the philosophical and ethical foundations of our understanding of human welfare and well-being (ibid)

Anand’s use of the word our is interesting. The word choice could suggest an unconsciousness othering. A few world leaders have indeed fallen into the othering trap throughout COP26.   

Unconsciousness othering, however, is understandable, as Kenneth Waltz’s literature is required textbook reading for political students. Waltz’s theory

That there is a rigid distinction to be drawn between domestic and international politics

(Brown, 2014, p. 101)

finds replication in society via the phrase charity starts at home.

To tackle goal 13 of the SDGs- climate change. World leaders are required to do three things. One, incorporate all seventeen SDGs into their climate change plans. Two move away from Kenneth Waltz’s thinking. Three recognise free-market capitalism has been the fundamental cause of CO2  emissions.

Initially, I was going to write an extended blog. Transitioning from the first section above to the next section on liberalism and global governmentality, however, I will pause for feedback.

If this blog style is to your preference, please comment with constructive feedback.  

References   

Anand, P (2010) ‘Welfare economics and social choice’, in Anand, P, Himmelweit, S, Mackintosh M, Santos C, Simonetti R and Stone H. (Ed[s]) Doing Economics: People, Markets and Policy, Milton Keynes, the Open University

Brown, W (2014) ‘Introducing international relations’, in Brown, W, Corry, O and Czajka, A (ed[s]) in ‘International Relations: Continuity and Change in Global Politics’, Milton Keynes, Open University.

Brown, W (2014) ‘Theoretical reflections: realism and liberalism’, in Brown, W, Corry, O and Czajka, A (ed[s]) in ‘International Relations: Continuity and Change in Global Politics’, Milton Keynes, Open University.

Green, M (2015) how can we make the world a better place by 2030. November. Available at: How We Can Make the World a Better Place by 2030 | Michael Green | TED Talks – YouTube (Accessed: 2 November 2021).  

Howie, D (2021) [Twitter] 1 November 2021. Available at: David Howie BSc, BA(Hons), MSc 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🇪🇺 (@Social_equality) / Twitter (Accessed 2 November 2021).

Legitimacy

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In previous blog posts, readers will remind me saying: living with the long term conditions caused by a medulloblastoma diagnosis results in disillusion with society and the inability to identify the self within the social norms of society. I have tried to explain how having no sense of the self is like having no idea of who you are. I have without prevail tried to achieve acknowledgement of this feeling. The look of complete blankness on the faces of friends and family is soul-destroying. If my brain was nothing more than a biological machine I would possibly hit the reset button- full restart. One problem the human brain is not a biological machine (not only). Our brains, our memories, define who we are.

Eleanor Roosevelt once said

I am who I am today because of the choices I made yesterday.

Elenore Roosevelt

That quote is 100 per cent correct. Who we are as individuals is past dependent. I just want to say to anyone that has ever verbalised the words: “only you can change your life”. You have no idea how frustrating and condescending that sentence is. To anyone that has been on the receiving end of that sentence, I apologise, the person that muttered this sentence has no understanding of the impact it had.   

Yes, who we are as individuals have a past dependency, just like social policy and the environmental conundrum humanity finds itself. As individuals and as a society,  we have a choice. We can stay on the road to self-destruction or we get off and try another path. How though? If our paths are past dependent, how can we change the path?  

I will admit I don’t know how to get off the path. Sometimes I think it would be simpler to go back and apply for nine to five jobs. That is a path, however, that the brain just will not go. I know there is no self at the end of that path or anywhere in the discourse of it.

My younger brother runs a successful copy write company. His company tagline is Short, Sharp, Straight to the point. I guess  I would not make a good copywriter. My point is this. As humans, we want simple things in life. Things like a home, a job, a community, clothing and food. A simple list correct? All basic human rights?

I remember Zach Braff aka J.D in an episode of Scrubs saying something like

Your work colleagues truly do become your family.

J.D

I think the above conclusion only holds true when the following premises follow

  1. You have a sense of belonging in your workplace
  2. There are other persons like you in your workplace.

Remember that Short, Sharp, Straight to the point tagline? Yes, that one. That is how we want to run our lives, our work, our relationships. The problem is, for 14 million disabled people and everyone else that feels they do not belong. There is nothing Short, Sharp, Straight to the point about anything in life. Except for that verbalised statement

“Only you can change your life”.  

My point is this. Despite nothing being Short, Sharp, Straight to the point – the way society wants it. Everything I have said has lived experience behind it. In a sense when policymakers say they want people who have lived experience to inform policy. What I take away is: policymakers want experts by experience to inform social change. However, as experts by experience have no understanding of the path walked, this is where experts by experience, legitimacy must stop.  

Fundamentally I disagree. I strongly believe people who have lived experience are best placed to develop innovative solutions to complex problems. For clarification what I have said about policymakers, including policy networks is subjective, based on my lived experience. Perhaps I am a little frustrated that I have been volunteering in the third sector for ten years and am unable to find an employment position in the sector. Perhaps am more frustrated that I look at the Scottish third sector and see box-ticking shadow, civil servants. Nothing against civil servants. It is just when you have been in and around the third sector you tend to hold third sector employees to higher standards. Nothing against my political colleagues either. Essentially what I want the reader to take away here is I have a lifetime of lived experience. I am an expert by experience ten times over. I am also, however,  a PPE undergraduate and Social Innovation postgraduate graduate. I see myself not only as an expert by experience but also as an expert by academic experience. I have more lived experience than most disabled people. I also have more academic experience than most non-disabled people. You would therefore think. Would you not? Those expressions of no perception of the self or no idea who I am as a person would be received in good faith-“bona fides”. Giving the legitimacy my lived and academic experience should carry. Instead, my views are met with confusion, bewilderment and disbelief. I should be grateful After all, I have a dead-end job, am underemployed and I lived longer than the five years the medical model said I should.       

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Hello WordPress

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My first post written for WordPress

Have you stumbled on my website or blog for the first time? Have you found my landing page by mistake? If so, you presently could be a little bewildered. You could and should be asking questions. The foremost question on your mind should be why? Not necessary why you have never questioned your “personal identity” before. The why question you should be asking is why it is important to ask how “personal identity” is shaped via geographic locations and lived experiences.   

Hello WordPress, I am David M Howie. Fasten your seatbelts. You are about to go on a rollercoaster ride. This rollercoaster will make you feel happy, sad, upset and even a little angry. Predominantly, though this rollercoaster will leave you asking what. What was society thinking? What was my role in all of this?

Mark Athinson chief executive of the disability charity Scope told the Huffington post there are almost 14 million people in the UK living with a disability. To put that in perspective the population of Scotland is 5.47 Million. The population of Wales is 3.25 Million and the population of Northern Ireland is 1.9 million. If like me you identify as disabled, you are probably hitting a downwards dip on the rollercoaster, you may even feel a little sick. If you do not identify as disabled. If this is all new to you. Tighten your seatbelt. The rollercoaster is about to go down the rabbit hole.

As a four-year-old child, I was diagnosed with a Medulloblastoma. As a result of the Medulloblastoma, I have grown up with long term conditions which include but are not limited to visual and hearing issues. Are my readers in the know about the social model of disability? If not see the definition provided by Scope here. Why is the social model of disability important to me? As I said above I have sight issues caused by the Medulloblastoma. This statement is not one hundred per cent correct. It is correct to say I have sight issues – constant double vision. Wearing glasses that prevents vision in my right eye (any eye) removes my double vision. Personally, the opportunity cost of buying glasses that limits my vision to one eye is better than not been able to see an LCD computer screen at all. I say LCD computer screen because while completing my first undergraduate degree back in 2001-2005 using Cathode-ray tube (CRT) monitors I had no issues seeing the monitors at all. My story is just one example of how society has disabled an individual. There are another 14 million stories in society. So why is it important for me to have the reader understand the social model? I have to buy glasses- not covered by the NHS- so I can be part of the community. So I can go to work. So I can go to University and so I can start my social enterprise. In a sense, I am lucky, I can pay to disable myself to fit in with the social norms of society. Go me – joking! How many of the 14 million disabled people in the UK cannot?   

On the off chance, you missed my camouflaged attempt at humour, I choose to disable myself not because of my childhood Medulloblastoma but because society has made technological advances. Here is where it gets more ironic, whilst completing my MSc I used Grammarly to aid with grammar and spelling. Capitalism 101. Society disables citizens because the policy used to measure how well a society is performing is based on GDP growth, not citizen well-being. Let me untangle my thinking and prevent any confusion.

21-year-old me graduates university, ready to take on the world. One problem the world is not a nice place. To quote Rocky Balboa

“It will, beat you to your knees and keep you there if you let it…nobody will hit as hard as life” 

Balboa, 2006

The rollercoaster is about to do a 360. You may virtually want to find something to break.  

I have been involved in the Scottish third sector for over ten years. In these ten years, I have tried to improve my life and the lives of the other 14 million disabled people in society. Here is the problem. Society does not want citizens with high subjective well-being. If citizens are happy, citizens are not spending. Think about it. The reason you buy a product or purchase a good is to solve a problem. I have a problem in that I cannot see the new computer monitors. Therefore, I have to become a consumer of glasses that allow me to see LCD and other new computer monitors. Additionally, due to problems retaining information in early education, I am now required to use Grammarly and read aloud word functions at additional personal cost. Like the rollercoaster, my academic career is almost at the tipping point. I have my MSc and I have no plans to pursue a PhD. Therefore I need to get a paid career and make my way in society. Like the rollercoaster the final destination is clear. What is not clear is will the outcome follow incremental milestone achievements or be a steep drop off the Clift.  

The end will come

Life, like the rollercoaster, will end. In life as in the ride, the final destination is unavoidable. Unlike the rollercoaster which is fixed as it is- if not replaced. In life, human well-being can be shaped by policy. A policy implemented that is designed to include all (as many) citizens, is in the best interest of society overall.  Perhaps am been egotistical here, I do not care. I have been living with the side effects of Medulloblastoma since the age of four- I believe rather well. I have two undergraduate degrees (paid for by the Scottish government) and an MSc in social innovation. I have achieved this despite typing this with only sight in one eye- because the technology behind my laptop, prevents me from seeing the laptop screen. Additionally, I purchased private hearing aids- I don’t hear high pitched sounds. There is that “why” question again. Why did I purchase private hearing aids? Because it is simpler to receive good customer service at Specsavers than it is to receive an appointment with the NHS.    

And there you have it. “What” disables citizens? Money! You are having the privilege of reading this blog post because I had savings and could pay for glasses that blind me in one eye. I had £4k+ to pay for my MSc. I had £1k to pay for private hearing aids and I had £24 a month (something like that) to pay for Grammarly. You are at the end. Not of the journey, that is just starting. You have reached the end of seeing disabled people as others but only if you take off your blinders. Unfortunately, I cannot.  

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