Yep, morning in America. Another day, another public shooting. So now we're ready to have a serious talk about gun control, right?
No? You want to have a talk about mental health instead, since a lot of these shooters have psychological problems?
Ok, fine, I'm in. Let's talk about mental health. You are aware, I'm sure, that the best way to provide mental health services is through universal health care, right? Because the truly mentally ill are usually disabled, and can't often hold down jobs, or lose the jobs they have because of emotional instability. Along with that, they lose their health insurance, which is where things tend to go off the rails.
If you want to beef up mental health services in America so there will be fewer public shootings, then you have to provide health care for everyone. A lot of mental health treatment, and most mental health screening, is done by primary care physicians. As a primary care physician, I can tell you that at least a third of the care I provide is related to mental health, especially substance addiction and depression, but the range goes way beyond that. You can't just pick out the future killers and treat them. We don't know who the future killers are. That means we have to treat everyone.
So, to sum up, if you want improved mental health services in this country, you have to get behind universal health care. What do you think?
That's what I thought. Ok, back to gun control....