So, how do we do it? It is all well and good to talk about love and kindness but what do we need to do, practically and pragmatically to address this enormous monster of greed and violence that assaults and traumatizes us day after day, whether dodging bullets and missiles in Syria, or morally vacuous advertising and corporate social manipulation here in the West? In Syria and Iraq and other countries wracked with violence and upheaval we have countries taking in refugees as well as bordering countries having set up refugee camps, but there are many complaints of systems and infrastructures being overwhelmed to the point of collapse and compassion fatigue from the host countries. It is going to take some time for everyone to accept as the new and current normal this taking in of refugees and not as a rare and unusual occurrence. Unless a lot of people are prepared to quickly change their attitudes and relax their sense and expectations of nationalism this is not going to work, or it will develop but very slowly with a lot of casualties and damage along the way. Here in Canada I think we will be taking in altogether not quite three thousand from Syria, hardly a demographic bulge, and unlike the tens and hundreds of thousands of immigrants that have come over in recent years from Hong Kong and China (oh, but they're different. They carry big bags full of money with them and push up real estate values. Oh yes, they do, and there is nothing even remotely racist about suggesting that this is happening so swallow your little politically correct pill and get over it!)
Still, we have to be prepared to re-examine and redesign our societies and our socio-political-economic systems if we are going to effectively address the tremendous public mental health crises that are looming ahead. Primarily, we are going to have to once and for all dethrone the market. This deification of the economy and of global market competition might have done wonders for creating wealth for the few but it has also resulted in some very brutal working conditions for others as well as an eat or be eaten job market.
This is destroying people's lives as it is undermining their mental health. In order to countervail this vicious competiveness we are going to have to reinstate and strengthen the very social democratic institutions that right wing and right of centre governments have been dismantling for the past forty years. Human needs are again going to have to be given priority whether we have a surplus or not. Healthy public social conditions are going to have to be brought again into centre place. Without a happy and healthy electorate our economic system is going to wind up being built on a foundation of sand and clay. Social and economic inequality is the perfect breeding ground for crime, disease and poor mental health because this creates the conditions for poverty, homelessness, inadequate housing, poor nutrition, lack of education and epidemics. If any neo-conservatives or neo-liberals happen to be reading this then please offer us a comment or two of just how your little Darwinist paradise could create a healthy society.
If we want to safeguard our public mental health then we are going to have to restore, strengthen, rebuild and further develop the infrastructure we once enjoyed. Social assistance programs need to be completely restored and topped up and requirements relaxed so that no one in our cities will ever again have to face the terror and humiliation of homelessness. Rent controls need to be revamped and reinforced and rents need to be adjusted to adequately be absorbed by householders' incomes. including broadly based programs ensuring that no one with a modest or low income will ever have to pay more than thirty per cent of their income for rent. By the same token it is time for Canada to legally declare housing as a fundamental human right and restore and strengthen our national housing program. Immigrant and refugee placement and support services need to be redone and strengthened with built in support and mentoring services and programs to help minimize the risk of immigrant youth from falling through the cracks and becoming involved in violent crime. Employment opportunities and training and all levels of post-secondary education need to be made available for people on low incomes including completely free and/or government subsidized university education for all students who wish to enrol. If we care enough, if we love enough then we will also find the funds for these and other programs and projects. They have done these and similar with resounding success in the Scandinavian countries and paying higher taxes has put no one there in the poor house.
What does all this have to do with improved mental health? Absolutely everything. True, we will always have mental illness among us and many (perhaps all?) of us will be always vulnerable in some way or other. But a safe and functioning society with a strong social infrastructure operated by people who care enough will also do a lot to reduce the impact and the fallout as well as guaranteeing for those who suffer a much better quality of care and support.
I will also give passing mention here to the need to dismantle our war propaganda machine. As we know our elected federal officials, especially since Stephen Harper and his Conservative Party took the reigns here, are becoming increasingly bellicose and this is traumatizing people at home as well as the soldiers who make it back alive. We have to review our national military policies and start working much harder towards international peace and reconciliation. The fallout of more war will result in more casualties and more mental illness.
This is not what I would call a comprehensive plan that I am offering us to work with, but at least here are some concrete ideas and suggestions that could help us get started.
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