New Freedom?

Given the spirit of the election being less than a week, I thought that it would be appropriate to discuss President Bush's New Freedom Initiative. It is told that this initiative has been developed so that all children will be screened for mental illness through their schools. I became aware of this proposal when the story came out from a British journal. Just how can this New Freedom Initiative really about being free?

The world net daily (1) wrote:
The president's commission found that "despite their prevalence, mental disorders often go undiagnosed" and recommended comprehensive mental health screening for "consumers of all ages," including preschool children. According to the commission, "Each year, young children are expelled from preschools and childcare facilities for severely disruptive behaviours and emotional disorders." Schools, wrote the commission, are in a "key position" to screen the 52 million students and 6 million adults who work at the schools.

I have been seeing a lot of bumper stickers on cars with the slogan "Freedom is not Free" and I would like to agree as I think that this New Freedom Initiative is a prime example. In the recent years, I have heard many stories about teachers coercing students to get on medications so they can control their classrooms against deviant behaviors from children. The use of medication is instituted instead of considering that the child's problems may have resulted from classroom size or the teachers inability to control the class by means of effective discipline. I believe that mandatory testing of children for mental illness which has not met validity or reliability standards could be the start of a forced medicating of our children.

I have written this blog without the intention to sway any voters on November 2nd because I do not know where John Kerry stands on this issue. I thought that it would be appropriate for us to realize what has been happening to our liberties from a mental health perpective.

Footnote

1) http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=39078