American Annals of the Deaf

In the midst of a cacophony of birdcalls, rustling leaves, power saws, and overlapping dinner conversations, I have been trying to sort my opinions about the construct of "rights." I am inundated with statements, emails, and media coverage regarding the rights—actually, social justice issues—relating to historically marginalized groups. I hear and read discussions about the inequities associated with gender, race, sexual identity/orientation, age, ethnicity, and disability (and deafness, if not part of "disability").

Of course, these discussions affect my professional life and are present in some of the writings in my academic field. In fact, it is fairly common to encounter such topics in university courses such as inclusion, equity and diversity, and most recently—in my "language and literacy" class, which concerns d/Deaf and hard of hearing children and adolescents, including those with disabilities (or additional disabilities).

I am certain that my readers have been exposed to assertions such as "d/Deaf and hard of hearing persons have a right to," for example,

• • a bona fide first language

• • a signed language

• • a spoken language

• • early intervention

• • early amplification

• • access the general education curriculum

• • an interpreter, transliterator, or note taker

• • an adequate education

• • interaction with typical peers in inclusive settings

• • interaction with d/Deaf and hard of hearing peers

• • adequate mental health services

• • employment

This list goes on, almost infinitely. And it is probable that to address many of these "rights" adequately would require, at least, laws, policies, and resources (funding, personnel, support, etc.) from the "larger society." The effects of "attitudes" on "rights"—well, that's another matter. And we'll have to consider the construct of values later.

In my language and literacy class, I have also encountered statements such as some d/Deaf and hard of hearing individuals have the right to receive a functional curriculum or an extended or expanded core curriculum—among others. Given the challenges of developing English language and literacy, a few of my students have argued that the use of alternative methods (e.g., visual phonics) should be explored—and, perhaps, it is a right to do this as well. My professional colleagues and I have inferred that d/Deaf and hard of hearing individuals should have the opportunity—perhaps, the right—to develop literate thought, not necessarily via print literacy (Paul, 2018; Paul & Wang, 2012). I cannot wait to hear what my university students think about the construct of literate thought in their next module session of my course. [End Page 477]

It seems that there is an avalanche of issues put forward as rights. In addition, there seems to be a wide variety of perspectives regarding what should count as a right. Some of us might even remark, sometimes with exasperation, "This is the right thing to do." Yes, I know that "right" is a multimeaning word; actually, defining or describing this word is a slippery slope.

In any case, the debate on "rights" becomes really interesting, if not downright confusing and dissentious, with the right to wear or not to wear a protective face mask in public. This refers, of course, to the recommendation of health agencies as one way to combat the current coronavirus pandemic—in which infections and deaths, at the time of this editorial, are once again on the rise. This can lead to mental and sometimes physical altercations, influenced mostly by political views, but still couched under the individual or human rights umbrella.

As a sidebar, and not to be sarcastic, I wonder how this brouhaha squares with the way some individuals react when they see Muslim women from the Middle East who follow a traditional interpretative approach to their faith by wearing head, face, and body coverings (e.g., niqabs, burkas) in public in the United States. I assume that this is an individual right, buttressed by religious convictions. Of course, the negative reactions here proceed beyond the types of coverings—nevertheless, there are still social and political ramifications.

To facilitate my understanding or, perhaps, perspectives, about the "rights" debate, I searched frantically in my home office for a paperback book on plays by Sophocles, one of the great Greek tragedians...