Mentally Ill
Two wise Englishmen, Samuel Johnson and R.H. Tawney, at opposite ends of the political spectrum, stated that one of the prime criteria for evaluating the greatness of a country is its treatment of the underprivileged. I give America a failing grade for its neglect of the mentally ill who roam our streets.
As your Oct. 17 editorial mentioned, the halfway houses that were supposed to give them support and care were never built after the mental hospitals closed in the ‘50s and ‘60s. We spend millions on investigative committees in Washington, billions on unneeded military aircraft and turn a blind eye to the tragedy of the mentally ill, which confronts us every day.
PAUL BERG
Los Angeles
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