Within These Pages is a kaleidoscope of ideas, information, insights and experiences that are at once personal, political and informative. The author takes you on a four year journey through her thoughts, ideology and experiences, and writes some times as if she is speaking directly to you as you read. She uses her experiences and thoughts as an advocate for people with learning disabilities and as a person who has lived with her own disabilities to illustrate the failings of various systems and delves into ways you can get around them and help yourself. Included within these pages are three never- before- published poems on homelessness.
Excerpt
Growth is a natural occurrence in life and places like vocational rehabilitation and social security need to encourage people who have no choice but to use these systems to live, to take chances and grow as human beings from the inside out. Instead, such growth is discouraged and can result in having the benefits and services taken away or denied all together. Over the years while I have been glad to have Supplemental Security income, I have also felt oppressed by the system, almost afraid of my own growth as a human being, and I know my growth is inevitable and can't be prevented. It's a natural process and means I am living and learning. I am still a part of life. Somehow I suspect that Social Security would rather people like myself turn into vegetables and do nothing with our lives, time and talent. There are people who would like to see people with disabilities pushed into the most menial types of work just to get us off the systems, which they think comes out of their tax dollars. So in some eyes we are good for very little or nothing at all. This is especially true of bureaucratic eyes belonging to people who have turned into a real-life version of the "Borg" and have forgotten how to be human beings and humane and compassionate.
Democratic Dilemmas and Divine Inspiration examines the significance or relevance of the idea that the U.S. Constitution was, as many believe, divinely inspired. How much did that belief matter to founders of the nation and how much does it matter no
