Walk a Mile In Their Shoes

By: Rana Goodman

I would think that most people are like me when they go into a voting booth and elect decision makers; they “assume” that these chosen few will use their best judgment in making decisions.  Maybe that is why the word “assume” is such a dangerous one.

Assuming that someone in power will use their best fiduciary responsibility or best moral judgment is often taking for granted the idea that others will act with their heart, their head, and as if they too were walking in the shoes of the people their decision affected.  It seems that rarely happens unless things are spelled out to the letter within the law, and then sometimes not even then.

---

This is the second year in a row, for example, that members of my community who play cards and billiards have complained of a cold draft entering our clubhouse when the automatic doors are opened by the disabled. It seems the doors delay too long to allow wheelchair access and a cold winds often drifts through.

Rather than install something like wind curtains or suggest that the able-bodied folks bring a sweater, management was authorized by the board of directors to disable the automatic door opening buttons because ADA does not mandate that we have them at all. Since I live in a senior community and spent many years caring for my disabled parent, I took this quite personally.

Sitting back and thinking about the situation it was quite easy to understand the lack of understanding for those less able than they, you see our directors are blessed with being quite fit, hikers all. It might be hard to step back and take a long hard look at those less fortunate and find a way to make their lives a little easier until they too have someone in that position to care for.