Haven’t we
made any progress? Apart from the
political implications and the fact that it looks like dirty politics…haven’t
we moved beyond the point that being ‘mentally unbalanced’ leads to accusations
that you are not fit for office? Even if
I was a Republican, the very mean-spirited approach of the McConnell campaign
would turn me off as a potential voter.
In a meeting, the campaign discussed how they would use a history of
depression in Ashley Judd’s past as a tactic to defeat her. How nasty.
And how destructive at a time when people are actively looking at the
impact of mental illness on this country.
When the fact is that many people in this country have a diagnosis of
mental illness, this strikes me as a tactic very close to the discredited
opinion that there are a certain number of people in this country who are
‘takers’ and therefore, not important as citizens of this country.
In 1972,
Thomas Eagleton was rejected as a Vice-Presidential candidate because he had a
history of depression. In spite of his
more than respectable history of public service, the only thing that was
important in the end was that he had a biochemical disease which led to
hospitalization. Wow. How amazing.
And that destructive and nasty approach to dealing with mental illness
is still alive in the McConnell campaign.
As a human being, I would hope that McConnell would be open to
understanding the implications of his campaign on the human beings in our
country afflicted with mental illness.
But I haven’t seen any compassion in the man. I wasn’t surprised by his plan. I am also not surprised that his primary
concern in this situation is that the way that someone got that information was
‘illegal’ and not that it showed him as a politician willing to use unfair and
destructive tactics to defeat an opponent.
We have
talked about the stigma of mental illness.
As I have stated before, stigma is a primary reason that people don’t
obtain treatment. It creates difficulty
in the lives of truly vulnerable people. And I believe that it is a symptom, an
attitude, which has placed the Republican Party in the position that they are
currently in. Compassion is not a dirty
word. Many people in this world really
do believe that kindness is an important value.
And when they see the lack of compassion shown in the behavior of
Senator McConnell, they are horrified.
This is not the same country that existed in the time of the McGovern
campaign. People are looking at the
approach taken by the Republicans and they see it as cold and condescending.
How will
this play out? I don’t know. The political winds are prone to change at a moment’s
notice. But I have also seen changes in
the way that people look at the political process. Most of us are tired of negative
politics. And because of that, the Republicans
lost the Presidential campaign of 2012.
Personally, I hope that they continue losing. If they are that incapable of kindness, then
I hope that they are never seen as a viable party again. I will say it again; mental illness is a
biochemical disease. It doesn’t mean
someone is less than or is different than you are. The fact that a political figure would “go
there” does not say a great deal of good about our political process and the
people that are in positions of power.
In my opinion, he needs to hear loud and clear that his behavior is not
OK. I will be watching this story
closely. (By the way, it is worth remembering that Abraham Lincoln suffered from depression. I think he might have done a few things in spite of that. How about you?)
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