May is designated as the month to consider mental health. The month to be aware of one’s own mental health, I assume. I agree it’s critical to keep up with one’s own state of mental stability, it’s also an excellent time to consider that of others.

The USA is the uncontested richest country in the world. We have virtually unlimited resources at our disposal. Billions of dollars are spent annually on seeking ways to help people who are suffering from various forms of mental health issues. Yet we are the global leader in gun murders, mass killings, and injuries to our citizens by our fellow citizens.

So, a couple of questions come to mind. Are we wasting our resources on research into the causes and cures of mental illness? Are we not spending enough to find the actual reasons why Americans are killing Americans en masse?

It seems to me that the problem is education. Specifically, the lack of proper education. Even more specifically, the lack of proper education in the home.

The problem has no beginning that is or likely ever could be designated a starting date. It would probably be difficult to identify an era, century, or even millennium that marks the beginning of the causes of humans deciding to be cruel and inhuman to each other. It may have always been that way. The earliest homo sapiens and even their predecessors were likely cruel to their peers.

Since meanness and cruelty are obviously ingrained in the human experience, I believe it’s more prevalent than mental illness per se. Therefore, I believe that a lot of the mass murders and mass inhumanities we witness daily could be greatly alleviated by education.

Sadly, it’s a cure that can never come to pass. We will never be able to teach every child, from birth to maturity, to be kind to and respectful of other human beings. We can’t avoid the meanness and destructive tendencies that are inside humans. They’re a part of the human experience and development of the species, forever embedded in human DNA.

But, we can make a dent in it with early education. We could make human relations, socialization, empathy, sympathy, and kindness a part of every child’s formal education from Pre-K onward. It’s obviously not a cure, but these exposures may diminish the overall problem, in the longer term.

This brings me back to Mental Health. I strongly believe in the support that our government and ordinary Americans give to the research into mental health. It’s important to constantly strive to improve our ability to locate and treat mental issues. Eventually, the world will be a better place with more healthy minds in it. It’s a slow but worthwhile outcome.

As far as the huge number of mass killings that take place in America every week, I’m tired of the do-nothing politicians blaming mental illness for these atrocities. The USA has the same per-capita instance of mental illness as the rest of the world. That eliminates mental illness as being the primary originator of mass killings. Other countries around the globe do not have this problem. America alone has this scourge. It can be traced to the availability of weapons that facilitate mass killings. Controlling the sale of guns of all types and outlawing the average citizen’s ownership of weapons of war is essential. AR-15 rifles are meant for only one thing. Killing people.

There’s no need to take a hunter’s weapon away. There’s no sense in taking away police and security guards’ weapons. These are essential to maintaining a healthy level of wildlife, our safety, and maintaining control of the ever-present criminal element. Even personal protection is a valid reason to bear arms in America.

Screening and licensing are the best answer to slowing the rate of mass killings. It’s true that guns can’t be kept out of the hands of criminals. Sure, they’ll get what they need to do their deeds, but many people with genuine mental issues can be kept from obtaining guns. Only national legislation can make the changes that are needed.

Mental Health Awareness Month is at the halfway point. There’s still time to donate to your favorite MH charity or find one to help. Its importance can’t be denied. I donate regularly and spent a big part of my life working in the mental health field. I take it seriously and ask that you do too.

At the same time, I’m interested in helping to cure the mass murder epidemic that has taken America by storm. For this cure, I ask everyone to contact their federal legislators and demand the gun control laws we need to alleviate the Americans killing Americans problem.