Don't expect simple solutions to post traumatic stress disorder
Article content
Ross Andrews - Various Veins
Tennessee Williams in his memoirs describes the end of the life of William Inge. Inge wrote plays, won a Pulitzer Prize in 1962. His work was always dark and moody. In 1973 he became deeply depressed.
A close friend called Williams for advice. Inge was signing himself into treatment centres, but could only stay two days before going home and keeping himself under sedation.
Williams saw that Inge was on a suicide course and advised the friend to have Inge's sister commit him to a good psychiatric hospital such as Menninger's in Kansas.
Inge took his own life shortly after.
A week ago a Canadian veteran took his own life, setting off more demands for mental support for service personnel and the resignation of the minister responsible for the department.
Members of Parliament know very well that the day to day work of a ministry is handled by the deputy minister and staff. The minister is not allowed to interfere with regulations under the act. The hue and cry is purely politicking. If change is needed, and it clearly is, it must be handled in committee. Amendments must be prepared and presented to the House for approval. It's a slow process.
The best of mental support will not prevent all suicides, as the Inge case clearly shows. This not an excuse to let people sink into despair. It is a call to realize actions affect the health of veterans, possibly increasing the rate of suicide.
Think how a veteran will feel to be given a lump sum payout instead of a life-time pension with cost of living adjustments. The veteran knows politicians and bureaucrats are not dealt with that way.
How does a veteran feel when, after the great show of support in remembrance week, there is a wait of months for treatment for one suffering post traumatic stress disorder? Do you suppose there will be doubt of sincerity in the minds of the speakers of platitudes? It's all sham?
Mark Twain wrote scathingly about secret prayers of the heart. The coal merchant stands to pray for the poor who face the storms of winter. In his heart he prays for icy blasts and a rise in the price of coal.
Today people stand and pray for good health for all the homeless and needy. Secretly they pray for a system that requires patients to pay a portion of the cost of medication and treatment.
Better than petitioning the deity to do something, more can be accomplished by offering suggestions to elected representatives for improvements. A good place to start is to stop paying bonuses to managers who game the system.
And about elected representatives, it is routinely argued that most voters do not get someone to truly represent them. Not true. The electee is not a marionette dancing on a string in the hand of the voter. The electee's task is to listen to the arguments and make the best decisions on our behalf. In political terms 'represent' means standing in place of the multitude. There just are not seats enough for all citizens to crowd into the assembly halls.
Whether the electee agrees with the voter's wishes or not, the electee does represent the voter in council, in the provincial assembly or in Ottawa. Beyond that, the electee represents everyone, too, who did not vote.