Caring for the mentally ill (no, don’t tune out!)

4.5 million Americans suffer from severe mental illness, of which 1.8 million are receiving no treatment on any given day. The results? Homelessness, incarceration and a high level of violence (schizophrenics and manic-depressives commit 1000 murders every year). When de-institutionalization began in the U.S in 1955 the States were responsible for the mentally ill, most …

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The perils of anti-intellectualism

“Americans are in serious intellectual trouble, in danger of losing our hard-won cultural capital to a virulent mixture of anti-intellectualism, anti-rationalism and low expectations. (Susan Jacobs, The Week, February 29th, 2008). Ignorant about science, art, history and geography, Americans are generally proud of their ignorance, labeling anyone who has a command of the English language, …

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Fairness and helping the less fortunate

Fairness and helping the less fortunate: – the disparity between the wealth of the rich nations and the poverty of the poorest should be the concern of all, and addressed through multi-lateral, bilateral and other aid programs. – Development of resources in common areas , especially the deep seas, Antarctica and outer space, should be …

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