Talking crazy
Oct 1, 2013, 12:00 PM | Updated: 2:31 pm
On a day like this, when there is so much conversation about health care in America, most of it seems to focus on insurance protection, of some kind, that would help families handle the expenses that are incurred with any kind of illness or accident.
But it is striking to me how little has been said about treating and dealing with the condition that still remains hidden in the attic of our responsibilities: Mental illness.
Ever see a telethon for the mentally ill? You won’t!
I was watching a news program over the weekend that called attention to the single link that ties all the recent mass shootings together — Washington Naval shipyard, Colorado, Tucson, Connecticut, and all the rest. The killers were all diagnosed as having some kind of mental condition, usually schizophrenia or paranoia or both.
The story concluded with this shocking reality: Since most asylums have been shut down, the untreated mentally ill in our country, many with the potential for extreme violence, have two places to go: Jail or the street where you live.
I’m Pat McMahon.
