A Question of Burnout

I was struck, reading about Russo and Teixeira’s struggles in their battle to feed needy people, by the phrase “it’s like being in a war zone.”

There is a battle going on in this country. But as long as we continue to allow public dollars to target the enemy as “out there” and the answer to the future security of the nation as the stealth bomber, we will continue to fund the wrong war.

Again we focus on the individual, these days, as having the problem, rather than society’s lack of responsibility for its brethren. The real problem is not “these individuals who take on too much responsibility, set unattainable goals and allow their work to endanger their own health and emotional well-being.”

The problem is that we continue to spend twice the federal dollars on “securing” our country through military means than we do on health, housing, job training, environment, energy, transportation, natural resources and education combined.

NANCY L. MARY

Department of Social Work

Cal State San Bernardino