Proof positive of America’s sad mental state

BY LOUIE OVERSTREET

One doesn’t have to look any further than the current occupant of the White House for insight into the mental state of our country.

Enough uninformed voters in traditionally blue states put him in the White House. President Obama saved the auto industry, and the thanks he received from Michigan voters was a stab in the back by some obviously ungrateful voters.

I am personally embarrassed to have a person serving as President of the United States whose mental stability is, at best, highly suspect. His budget priorities demonstrate that he is Head Potentate of the Society of Science Deniers. He is proposing major reductions in — and in some cases, outright elimination of — programs that advance scientific knowledge or provide a safety net for people who have fallen on hard times.

Additionally, in a society that grows more uncaring and fearful with each passing day, prisons have become socially acceptable warehouses for non-violent people suffering from drug addiction and untreated mental illness. Another contributing factor is the hypocrisy of anti-abortion zealots. They argue endlessly about when life begins, but are not at all concerned for the well-being of infants and preschool children who, if provided an equal start in life, would have every opportunity to thrive.

It is frightening to watch the lack of civility exhibited by people serving in Congress as examples of how we should conduct our affairs on a daily basis in what should be a just, fair, and orderly society.

As to my mental state through it all, a favorite country singer of mine, the late Waylon Jennings summed it up well: “I have always been different with one foot over the line, Winding up somewhere one step ahead or behind, It ain’t been so easy, but I guess I shouldn’t complain, I have always been crazy, but it has kept me from going insane!”