If I were a writer

I would be able to move hearts and souls with my words. I would pen works of grandeur, stories to twist the imagination and stretch the mind, poems to bring people to the brink of tears, caress their cares away with laughter, banish boredom with excitement. But I’m just a blogger, and a witterer on social media, so I rant in capsules, implore action in carefully arranged sentences.

I don’t get to find out whether anyone acts upon my suggestions. Don’t know if linking the idea of a paralympics legacy with protests against the ill conceived welfare reform bill made any difference outside of the surge of RTs it received at the time. I light tiny little fires and float them away on tiny little waves hoping that they will burn brightly on their way to a distant shore where all is sense and decency and fairness.

A very distant shore from this, where tabloid journalists were picking at the vulnerable before the embers of the paralympic flame were even cold. The summer of our shared glory fading faster than the fireworks as it’s back to business as usual with mealy mouthed politicians ignoring their own wastrel ways and instead choosing to blame those that have no control over the state they find themselves in.

Disabled individuals, families and carers deserve our support as they so often create miracles out of little but goodwill. They do not deserve our suspicion, nor do they deserve the morass of red tape that parliament would cast around them. When you’ve spent the day battling your illness, your body or your internal demons, you should be able to rest without fear that the society around you will turn upon you, taking the means of support you need to live with some semblance of independence or dignity.

Am I losing you, dear reader, or are you still with me, nodding along? If you are in any agreement that the paralympic legacy should be one of dignity and change, please take it upon yourself to sign pat’s petition and spread the word. It’s not a lot, won’t take you long, but could make a world of difference.