I always wondered why Ronald Reagan, in 1980 and by the stroke of a pen, allowed the mentally ill, nationwide, to fly over the cuckoo's nest. Deinstitutionalized people suddenly had no where to go, and one was my brother. "How could that happen?" had been my question for decades, but I finally found some answers. Reagan, for some reason, never had to deal with mental illnesses on a personal level. In fact, he didn't believe in it and thought it was just a Commie excuse for poor behavior.
The homeless in America are almost impossible to properly deal with because a goodly majority are mentally ill. The only remaining institutionalization of the mentally ill resides in jail and prison populations. It's a sick situation in more ways than one. If one looks at that one decision and its true aftermath one could argue the point that it's one of the darkest days in American history.
Another "day of infamy"!
Added to our streets and back alleys is such a sad situation that cities are seeing a steady decline in wellness as a whole. Cities are so sick and unhealthy that society in general degrades itself to a war zone status.
My brother spent decades wondering the streets stealing and existing in his battle zone. Constantly self medicating by chain smoking butts found thrown on the ground, he developed a nice case of COPD. Watching him suffocate to death in a nursing home was an ode to Ronald Reagan.
