Budget cutting in the Congress threatens to undermine an unexpected but extraordinary representative of the United States internationally, the Special Olympics. We tend to think of diplomacy as something conducted by high-level officials meeting behind closed doors.
But in this age of citizen activism, here and abroad, Special Olympics — with its grass-roots sports, health, educational and other programs for persons with intellectual disabilities — is imparting the message that every person matters and through it, communicating enduring lessons around the world about American values.
Any proposal to dramatically reduce or eliminate federal funding for core Special Olympics programs, such as that which unites persons with and without intellectual disabilities, and that which provides health care for persons with intellectual disabilities, is a tragedy.
Special Olympics conveys the creativity, determination and private-public collaborations that distinguish our nation in many ways. Most powerfully, the athletes of Special Olympics, whether competing at home or abroad, stand as a constant message about what inspired individuals, given the opportunity, can accomplish through hard work. What began in Eunice Kennedy Shriver’s yard four decades ago with a few children now encompasses nearly 4 million athletes from more than 170 nations.
The example that the athletes of Special Olympics provide and the bonds that they build, particularly through programs such as Unified Sports that bring together persons with and without disabilities on the playing field, are powerful ones. Research conducted by scholars at the University of Massachusetts, Boston demonstrates Special Olympics programs in a variety of settings around the world, not only enhance the self-esteem and well-being of persons with intellectual disabilities, but also begin to foster more positive public attitudes toward citizens with disabilities.
In so doing, those programs convey a message of the value of every citizen and of inclusiveness that is so central to what our nation is about. This paves the way for persons previously excluded to become more involved members of society — succeeding in school, engaging in the labor force and contributing to communities.
But Special Olympics sends other messages about the United States that are also significant. The history of Special Olympics is one of how civil society and government working together can create results that neither could wholly attain on its own. As residents of Atlanta know, the staging of anything Olympic leaves an enduring legacy.
Times are indeed tight, but doing away with the $13 million funding, a critical component of Special Olympics’ resources that are needed to make these programs work, runs the risk not only of undercutting an effort that has shown its worth at home, but that also has served as a valuable exponent across the globe of the very best that our nation has to offer. Now, more than ever, we need to strengthen this program and, through it, to underscore for the world the generosity of spirit and inclusiveness that represent what is best about our nation.
William P. Alford is Henry L. Stimson Professor of Law and Vice Dean at Harvard Law School, and a member of the Board of Directors of Special Olympics International.
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