We need the ADA because of the enduring power of these myths. Critics suffer from the problem the law tries to cure. They hold a distorted view of the capacities of people with disabilities, the discrimination they suffer and the cost of curbing that discrimination. Fortunately, the ADA educates as much as it prescribes. This law, passed in 1990, works.
Few laws enjoy such universal support.
Its bipartisan character derives in part from the understanding that anyone, Republican or Democrat, can become disabled. The ADA's promise is within our grasp. We are building a society in which everyone can participate. Now we can begin expecting people with disabilities to meet the demands of citizenship. Ed Bennett is co-chair of the ACLU's National Disability Rights Task Force.