Siggy's Blurbs: Siggy's Edge of Country …

If America is so free, why do we have the biggest population of prisoners in the world?  That is a good question.  A disproportionate number of prisoners are black and poor.  I guess if you have a good lawyer, you usually do not end up in jail.  Many of the prisoners are in for non-violent crimes–mostly drugs.

Another travesty is there are more mentally ill in our prisons than in hospitals.  And many are not getting proper care.  Also, corporate profits are at a sixty year high.  And their taxes are at a sixty year low.

I just read if you factor inflation in, the minimum wage would be over twenty dollars.  It is not, so where are the profits coming from?  I thought I read that in the US one in five collect food stamps.  All that is not right.  Are we really our brother’s keeper?  Our leaders have a vested interest in keeping our population poor.  Our politicians may be elected by the people but most of them do not answer to the general population.  It is big money that they answer to.

In the words of Fidel Castro’s brother (during a Sean Penn interview), the politicians in America are the ‘ruling class.’  And now the government wants to run the medical profession.  As more and more details come in, instead of the price of medical insurance going down it might double or triple for some people in 2014.  It is enough to really get discouraged with our country.  Our land of the free.

Tags: a good lawyer, America, Are we our brother's keeper?, big money, corporate profit, corporate taxes, Fidel Castro, food stamps, freedom in the US, government and health insurance, health insurance, inflation and the minimum wage, jail, Land of the Free, medical insurance, medical profession, mentally ill in prisons, minimum wage, non-violent crimes, our country, our leaders, politicians, politicians are the 'ruling class', prisoners are disproportionately black and poor, Sean Penn, US, USA, We imprison the greatest per cent of our population in the world
Posted in health, life, mental health, money, politics, relationships, wisdom | No Comments »

I have to ask, again and again:  Are we our brother’s keeper?  You read repeatedly how state after state is slashing their budget for mental health services.  Sure, states can’t afford to continue to pay for upkeep of their mental health hospitals so many of them are closing.  The services in the communities are often not supported; even services that have proved to be cost effective like peer centers.

People will still suffer.  The jails, not hospitals, now contain the largest population of the mentally ill.  Many are in for minor offenses.  Is that right?  As if the politicians don’t know that?  This population is the most vulnerable.  ER’s are increasingly being filled with those in crisis and it is very difficult to find an appropriate place for them to go.

We will be judged by how we treat the weak and vulnerable.  I will ask the politicians, again, are you your brothers’ keeper?  It costs a lot of money to treat the mentally ill in jail.  The money could be better spent in the community.  The mentally ill do not belong in jail.

People are suffering unnecessarily.  The general public is also complicit in this situation.  There was a reason state hospitals were often in the country.  Out of sight, out of mind although it is true decades ago they were called rest homes.  There were none of the medications available and often all some of the people in crisis needed was some peace and quiet and time to regain their equilibrium.

The public and the politicians need to ask themselves are we our brothers’ keeper?  And support the services that are needed to humanely treat the mentally ill.  By all means the states need to spend their money wisely.  But acting as if the problems will vanish and expecting the jails to treat the mentally ill is not right.

It could be your loved one?  After all, one out of four have been diagnosed mentally ill in their lifetime.  And you would want proper and humane treatment for your loved ones.  Or even you?  So we have to keep asking ourselves (and the politicians) are we our brothers’ keeper?

Tags: budget, community, cost effective, country, crisis, equilibrium, ER, general public, God, health, hospitals, humane treatment, jail, lot of money, medications, mental health, money, most vulnerable, one out of four, our brothers' keeper, out of sight out of mind, peace and quiet, peer centers, politicians, rest homes, services, state hospitals, suffer, the public, your loved one
Posted in balance, God, health, knowledge&learning, life, mental health, politics, relationships, time, wisdom | No Comments »

You don’t know how important your freedom is until it is taken away.  That is the one thing my friend would desire more than anything at all–his freedom.  Presently, he is in jail and has none.  I was never in jail but I do have some idea how it feels to have your freedom taken away.  When I was in an hospital, I had my freedom taken away so I know how it feels.  My friend does not have too much materially but that is the one thing–your freedom that you can’t put a price tag on until you lose it.

Tags: freedom, hospital, jail
Posted in balance, time, wisdom | No Comments »

I try not to take anything for granted, even the shower I take.  For fifteen years the house I lived in had no shower.  I still remember that back then the big thing about staying in a motel was it would have a shower.

It is so easy to take your most basic freedoms for granted until you are in a situation when you lose them.  It happens in jails (which I never was in) or in hospitals.

I still remember although it was almost forty years ago I needed permission for almost everything.  To make a telephone call, to take a shower to take a walk, almost everything.

So I cherish my simple freedoms a little more although there are times I forget this.  Everything is by grace.  I keep coming back to this.  Everything is by grace.

Tags: basic freedoms, cherish simple freedoms, don't take anything for granted, everything-is-by-grace, forty years ago, God, hospital, jail, motel, need permission to make a telephone call, take a walk, taking a shower
Posted in balance, God, knowledge&learning, life, local, time, wisdom | No Comments »