Want To End Gun Crime? Address Mental Health

Two of the key priorities — an expanded mental health system for youth, and a cabinet committee on social inclusion and anti-racism with a permanent secretariat to oversee an anti-violence strategy — have never seen the light of day according to Curling, who says the government has only adopted recommendations in a “piecemeal fashion.”

Yes, there has been funding.  Yes, there has been talk of comprehensive strategies.  But we're not there yet. 

Why?  Because we have yet to really internalize what mental health is or what it means in a social context.

We can continue skirting around the issue and keep throwing funding starfish back into the ocean, but until we really drill down to where the problem originates, we'll never find the solution.

Mental health, personal opinions, intelligence, voting intentions, creativity, violence, obstinacy, flexibility, naivete, workaholism, micro-management - whatever behavioural tick you want to hook on to is just a reflection of what's happening in our noggins.  Brain is body - just as body's can be shaped, thought can be shaped.  It gets shaped all the time, we're just not conscious of what influences are doing the shaping.  Personality is neuro-chemistry; "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree" is really just about genetics.  There are boundaries to how far we can push ourselves, but we haven't even begun to explore the fullness of individual potential.

If we really want to foster strong individuals for a strong society, we have to start with the basics.  Until we do, the cracks in our social infrastructure will continue to build.