Terri's Fight was just the beginning!

These stories show there's a lot more to do to protect people with cognitive disabilities from those who would call them non-persons.

Ethical discussions based on the theories of Peter Singer could suddenly put anybody who can't talk to a TV reporter in Terri's position. Those of us who value our "imperfect" lives need to
find a way to impact public opinion before this idea of shifting
"personhood" across the lifespan solidifies in American thought.

If I could be...

Thanks to Janette at Common Sense Runs Wild for tagging me to do this meme:

Immediately following there is a list of 18? 19? 20?different occupations. You must select at least 5 of them (feel free to select more). You may add more if you like to your list before you pass it on (after you select 5 of the items as it was passed to you). Each one begins with "If I could be..." Of the 5 you selected, you are to finish each phrase with what you would do as a member of that profession. For example, if the selected occupation was "pirate" you might take the phrase "If I could be a pirate..." and add to it "I would sail the 7 Seas, dating lasses from around the worlde." See how easy that is?

Here's the list:

• If I could be a scientist...
• If I could be a farmer...
• If I could be a musician...
• If I could be a doctor...
• If I could be a painter...
• If I could be a gardener...
• If I could be a missionary...
• If I could be a chef...
• If I could be an architect...
• If I could be a linguist...
• If I could be a psychologist...
• If I could be a librarian...
• If I could be an athlete...
• If I could be a lawyer...
• If I could be an innkeeper...
• If I could be a professor...
• If I could be a writer...
• If I could be a llama-rider...
• If I could be a bonnie pirate...
• If I could be an astronaut...

(Janette added):

• If I could be a politician . . .
• If I could be a kid again . . .
• If I could be an animal . . .
• If I could be a tree . . .
• If I could be a celebrity . . .

And my own addition is:

• If I could be a character from a book or movie...

Here are my choices:

* If I could be a scientist... I'd create a small, mobile device that would, without any damage to the user's actual health, simulate various disabilities, like blindness, deafness, cognitive impairments, or paralysis. The user would then live with the chosen disability for, say, twenty-four hours.

* If I could be a doctor... I'd create treatment plans based on respect for the patient, designed to communicate that respect without adding significantly to the costs of care.

* If I could be a painter... I'd create paintings to represent a song, a caress, or the flavor of chocolate...

* If I could be a professor... I'd teach my students that the only thing needed to achieve a dream is the decision to pursue it.

* If I could be a writer... oh, yeah, I am a writer!

And thanks to Janette for this one:

* If I could be a kid again... I'd stay in touch with my friends. And I'd realize how skinny I was!

* If I could be a character from a book or a movie... I'd be a dragonrider from Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series. I don't care what color my dragon would be, but I want to fight Thread before it disappears forever!

I'm tagging Summer, Rae, and Imfunnytoo