The highly untimely death of the great entertainer and patriot Robin Williams last week struck a cord in anyone who knew of him which is to say virtually everyone. Perhaps time will tell if he decided to end his life because of mental illness or a more clear-headed decision that he did not want to endure the ravaging illness of Parkinson’s Disease. Nonetheless, as he made known publicly over the years, he battled depression and if there can be a silver lining in this tragedy, it is that there is at least a temporary discussion about mental illness.

Whether it be depression or otherwise, mental illness in some form is prevalent and does not discriminate by race, ethnicity nor social or economic status. And not unlike cancer, heart disease or AIDS, it can be deadly.

Aunt Matilda may have provided entertainment at family events but she needed help that no one had the courage to provide

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Sadly, society’s approach to such is to largely ignore it (“Sure, your Aunt Matilda was standing on the roof swatting at imaginary planes at the family barbecue but you had ketchup on your hot dog so drop it!”). While there are many commercials, advertisements and organizations promoting the cure for or treatment of physical diseases and there is even a burgeoning industry that specializes in hospice care, mental infirmity is something that is spoken little of in polite company.

It’s a shame and mistake that society doesn’t treat mental illness with the same urgency as physical illness. In fact, it even has become a form of entertainment with shows like the ones that cover the obsessive-compulsive behavior of hoarding.

And this unwillingness to deal with mental illness is reinforced by the political class too.

It started at least in the 1970s when the mental institutions were virtually emptied in a fit of political correctness and perceived sensitivity and it continues today whenever there is a shooting massacre and we blame the gun manufacturers or benign weekend warriors on a shooting range instead of rightfully blaming mental illness.

Until society rightfully and with full force addresses this powerful and deadly disease, there will be continued tragedies both on an individual and group basis.

-I.M. Windee