It’s our money too!!
Quick, what bills are these?
In 2002, the American Council of the Blind began a lawsuit against the U.S. Government claiming that our existing currency discriminates against the Blind or the visually impaired.
In 2006 the decision came in in favor of the American Council of the Blind. The Treasury Department Appealed.
This month in 2008, the Appelate ruling is in and the decision stands! The American Council of the Blind wins for now.
I applaud them, but it’s not over yet. The Treasury has 90 days to appeal or as for Supreme Court review.
Before I go into this topic let me discuss my bias and existing point of view. In the past year I began volunteering with Foresight Ski Guides, a non profit organization based out of the Vail Valley that works with the visually impaired as guides on the Mountain. Living in Denver I didn’t spend as much time volunteering as I would have liked to, but the limited time I did have was amazing. I met so many inspirational men and women who only want to experience the best in life. They work, they persevere, and they were simply amazing. All we did in guiding was help out a little bit. Just like we all need a little bit of help in one way or another every day.
To me, this change of currency would be simply a little fairness to create more empowerment and freedom for the visually impaired. Do you like to travel? I do, so this is an easy example for me. Can you imagine exploring our country and going to an ATM in a strange location and having to ask someone to explain the currency for you? Or what about the simple act of getting change for a cup of coffee? Sure, you can rely on others to help but if we can assist in creating a denomination that is clear for any visual impairment why wouldn’t we?
It is also curious to consider from an artistic or philosophic approach the U.S. approach to money. In traveling I have encountered many different currencies across many different countries. None resembles the American Greenback (which may be a distinguishing feature worth retaining, that argument has merit) and are adorned with various colors and backgrounds. Some currencies are, quite simply, works of art.
Does our approach to currency mean something? Is it a hard nosed business approach to money. Does it reflect the value we put on the “almighty dollar”. Does something more fun and whimsical mean “It’s just a piece of paper… my time,experiences and laughter are more important”. I don’t know but someone out there probably studies this for a living and could better answer it. Or do the various colors in other cultures do just what the American Council for the Blind hopes for, a better tool for the visually impaired to differentiate their currency. Remember that we are not just hoping to help individuals with total blindness, but many that have partial impairments who could benefit from something as simple as different colors.
A lot of vending machines will need to be reprogrammed and it is a BIG change. But like all things, we will get used to it. Doing the right thing is always more important.
Interested in supporting this, you can visit this page and show your support with Congress.
Either way, lets have a fun little challenge and see if anyone can design our new currency. I’ll create a topic on the forum (I am hooked on the new forum component of this blog) and see if anyone uploads their ideas or links to items on this topic.
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