Letter to the president

(First posted on January 26, 2013.)
​​When I found out the president was talking gun control (a subject near and dear to my heart lately), I felt the need to contact him to say something was missing to the approach. Yes, I just said that I emailed the president to give him some advice. I know, I need help. Anywho, here’s my letter.
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Hello, Mr. President,
In addressing gun control, you’re tackling a very difficult topic. Emotions are high, especially after the tragedy at Sandy Hook. People get scared of the guns, after such shootings. Personally, I’m scared of the person behind the gun. So often, we hear a witness say, “He was such a quiet man. I never thought he would do something like this.” People assume that this penchant for violence was always there and only expressed itself now. Truth of the matter is that anyone can lose their grip on reality. For instance, I’m the guy next door: college-educated, professional, religious, jocular. I also remember the exact moment in college when I became suicidal. Looking at your life and “logically” concluding that it should end is confusing and scary. It’s like looking at a series of math equations that lead to the answer “1=2″ and not being able to see where it all went wrong. Except if you don’t solve that puzzle, you know you’re going to do irreparable harm.

Under the wrong circumstances, most of us can snap in some way. We must address the issue of improving mental health in America or we will always be hearing about how some “nice, quiet man” killed 30 people at once. Next time, it won’t be with a gun; it will be with a bomb or poison or any number of tools of death. To stop the crazy man from killing with a weapon of choice, you could (and should) try to control the weapon. Eventually, he will choose a new weapon. On the other hand, address his mental state and you’ll remove his desire to kill in such large numbers altogether.

Basic self-preservation will often drive people in mental crisis to seek (or at least desire) help. We must make it easy for them to get that help. Remove the stigma from mental illness and its treatment. Drop the hurdles to mental health care. Encourage people to get into better health, mental and physical. We have sympathy for someone suffering from a broken leg, cancer, or a cold, but if someone mentions depression, schizophrenia, or borderline personality disorder, it’s a reason to be ostracized. Often, the outcast with mental issues feels it won’t matter to him to kill the ones who excluded him. We need to stop the process early. We need to learn to turn that exclusion into inclusion. It’s not perfect and won’t heal all ills, but it will help this particular ill significantly.
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My family prays for you daily. You’re an inspiration and in a challenging job. Let God lead you and you’ll never go wrong.