The latest events.......
Dec 24, 2012 10:22:35 GMT -8
Post by Brett on Dec 24, 2012 10:22:35 GMT -8
A lot of this is why I believe we should have mental health checkups be as easy and as common as a dental checkup.
Only there's a slight little problem with that; while everyone should get their bi-annual dental checkup, many go for years without ever seeing a dentist, and only when they end up with a tooth ache.....pretty much as is the case with many mental health cases. Far too many don't seek help or are forced into it, until it is already to late.
Yes, people skip the dentist, but would you agree that more go to the dentist regularly than those who see a mental health professional?
Do you think if a system was in place where mental health care was as affordable and accessible as dental care we would be better off for it?
I'm no Wayne LaPierre; I'm not out here saying 'this is the only way to stop it.' But I'd like to hear what you think should be done, honestly. I'm not looking to challenge your idea because they are not what mine are, I just want to hear what you think should be/can be done to make the system better.
Yes, it is "pie-in-the-sky thinking" as those are simply conjecture and nothing based on fact.
Heck, one might say that drug abuse could increase. We'd simply have more people with prescribed drug problems and less illegal ones.
It was always a joy to run on the "mental health patient" who had overdosed on their "psych meds", whether intentional or accidental....and was now bouncing off the walls more than they had previously before having the meds prescribed.
Heck, one might say that drug abuse could increase. We'd simply have more people with prescribed drug problems and less illegal ones.
It was always a joy to run on the "mental health patient" who had overdosed on their "psych meds", whether intentional or accidental....and was now bouncing off the walls more than they had previously before having the meds prescribed.
So are you totally against prescription drugs? Do you feel they are more hurtful than helpful?
Do you realize that many teen drug users point to their first introduction to them by stealing prescribed meds from mommy and daddy's medicine cabinet?
How many teen drug users have their first introduction to drugs stealing mommy or daddy's alcohol or marijuana? How many of those mommy's or daddy's could have been helped before getting into drugs themselves by proper mental care?
Yes, it's a debate that's comes around every time the media spreads a shooting across the headlines and around the clock on the "boob tube".
And what many forget, it's not the guns (or swords).....it's the lunatics operating them.
With this nanny state logic, we better ban fertilizer and diesel fuel, because Timothy McVeigh killed 168 people, and injured over 800 others with the two.
But let's just say we ban assault rifles tomorrow, what do we do with the ones already out their?
Also, don't you think that we wouldn't also just create another lucrative criminal element who'd bring them in from elsewhere? How's that war on drugs going?
And what many forget, it's not the guns (or swords).....it's the lunatics operating them.
With this nanny state logic, we better ban fertilizer and diesel fuel, because Timothy McVeigh killed 168 people, and injured over 800 others with the two.
But let's just say we ban assault rifles tomorrow, what do we do with the ones already out their?
Also, don't you think that we wouldn't also just create another lucrative criminal element who'd bring them in from elsewhere? How's that war on drugs going?
The argument against 'Nanny State Logic' comes off as the 'slippery slope' that we get into with other issues in America.
I think it is born out of a fear of change in America. Having a conversation about the consequences of the changes is necessary, but it should by no means prevent change - it should enhance it.
The Timothy McVeigh argument isn't really worth discussing IMO. If we have a rash of bombings in this country on a near-monthly basis, maybe that conversation can be revisited. I see what point you are trying to make, though.
What to do with the assault rifles already out there, purchased legally? Great question. I honestly don't know how to enforce something like that. Is there a database of people who have purchased these? I would hope so. Offer them a credit for returning their firearm? What would you suggest?
The 'Nanny State Logic' becomes clearer with the below:
Interesting, I see no practical use for cigarettes, and while I'd personally love to see them banned, I don't believe my personal dislike for them should prevent someone who enjoys them to stop enjoying them.
BTW, I think you might find that cigarettes kill more Americans annually than firearms domestically, but that just may be for a whole other thread.
BTW, I think you might find that cigarettes kill more Americans annually than firearms domestically, but that just may be for a whole other thread.
Trust me, cigarettes killed my father...I would love to see them banned as well.
However, how many changes have we seen in cigarettes over the past few decades? Smoking in restaurants? Bars? Within 50 feet of a building? Advertising?
We as a society came to recognize the killer cigarettes are. According to the CDC, the number of smokers are decreasing with each generation.
I think this is a great example of the progressive thinking I am advocating with mental health, guns, and the like.
It shows that nothing is 100%. There is no 'one-way' thinking like Wayne LaPierre promotes. But by putting measures into place that incrementally improve the situation, we can make the world a better place.