In conjunction with March 21st being World Down Syndrome Day, I am appalled by a new advertisement produced by CoorDown in association with the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS) and other organizations.
The opening scene shows 22-year-old model and actress, Madison Tevlin, who has Down Syndrome, going to a bar wanting a margarita, but the bartender assumes she should have a soda. She wants to live on her own, but her parents assume she has to live with them forever. In the gym, the coach is easy on her and assumes she isn’t up to a challenging workout. She wants to learn Shakespeare with her class in school, but the teacher assumes she should learn “Old McDonald.”
The actress goes on to say that we should assume that people with Down Syndrome can drink alcohol, live on their own, have challenging workouts, learn Shakespeare, go to parties, have sex, and as she so pointedly points out in the ad, swear about it.
As stated in an interview with TODAY.com, the CEO of the National Down Syndrome Society states, “The whole point of this video is to end those stereotypes of people living with Down syndrome. Many times people with disabilities are presumed to be unable to care for themselves or unable to make their own decision and that’s not the case.”
The ad has the goal of challenging our thinking in new ways, by presuming competence and realizing that people with disabilities should have the opportunity to do everything that others can do.
While I absolutely agree with their premise of presuming a person “can” before we presuming they “cannot,” I could not disagree more with their outcome.
Perhaps the new way of thinking is not to presume that people with disabilities can and should engage in sinful activities like the world, but rather assume that each person with a disability has a soul from God and may be accountable to Him one day.
Though many people with significant intellectual disabilities have souls that are sinless and pure, aka Forever His, that is not necessarily true for every person. So yes, let’s treat every person with presumed competence. However, rather than provide opportunities for sin, why not assume that they can learn purity, holiness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23)? Why not provide spiritual education and opportunities to learn about their Creator (Deuteronomy 6:5-9)? Why not provide ways for them to serve and minister to others (1 Peter 4:10)?
By all means, presume competence and independence for those with Down Syndrome and everyone else. But don’t lose sight that for those with Down Syndrome, and all of us, “without holiness, no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14).”
May we never have to hear the Lord accuse us of causing someone to sin and putting a millstone around the neck of another (Matthew 18:6).
Original article is found here.