Mental health in America.

Editor,

All sides seem to agree that guns in the hands of mentally disturbed people is a bad idea.

So what does the USA do about mentally disturbed people?

Low functioning mentally disturbed people live on the street pushing shopping carts around. This is a measure of how important it is that CEO's of criminal banks, for example, haul in salaries and bonuses in the tens of millions and pay negligible taxes on that money.

Higher functioning mentally disturbed people apparently find it easier to buy assault rifles than to find or be found by mental health services -- because it is so important that rich people not pay taxes that greedy mental health professionals be laid off and mental health services only be provided to Americans with enough disposable income to check themselves into one feel-good self-improvement program or another.

Do you catch my drift?

Money, taxes, mental health services.

Forget about guns, which are indeed crazy and completely unnecessary in an urban, suburban, or exurban environment.

The real battle in the USA is whether a civilized, humane government will be supported and funded by its citizens or whether dog-eat-dog, every-man-for-himself -- which seems to suit corporations and rich people very well -- will continue to be the model upon which American society is built.

re: "Guns and the Slog" (7/21/2012)