It doesn’t get anymore blunt than this.
We in America ignore mental illness at our own peril. The twenty young innocent children recently slaughtered in Newtown, Connecticut were victims because our society makes it difficult to care for the mentally ill. Our refusal to address mental illness even in our own families is costing us.
Acquaintances or someone in Adam Lanza’s family knew something was wrong with him and whether or not they had the resources to help Adam should be irrelevant. He needed help, we as a civilized society should have tried to help.
Those whom claim that we should be on our own regarding health care issues conveniently ignore the larger repercussions.
Identifying, containing, and treating those who suffer from mental illness should be our focus.
When we don’t, we do so at our own peril.