Letters 9/01/05

Aug. 31, 2005

Bad news Cruise
The Board of Directors of Northern Lakes Community Mental Health has been gratified to see protests grow steadily since actor Tom Cruise first criticized actress Brooke Shields for taking antidepressants for postpartum depression while promoting his new movie, “The War of the Worlds.“
We were aghast to learn that Mr. Cruise recently declared in a Today show interview, “There is no such thing as a chemical imbalance,“ and compared psychiatry to Nazism during a subsequent Entertainment Weekly interview.
We agree with the American Psychiatric Association, the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, and the National Mental Health Association that it is irresponsible for Mr. Cruise to use his movie publicity tour to promote his own ideological views and deter people with mental illness from getting the care they need.
While we respect the right of individuals to express their own points of view, they are not entitled to their own facts. Mental illnesses are real medical conditions that affect millions of Americans.
Over the past five years, the nation has more than doubled its investment in the study of the human brain and behavior, leading to a vastly expanded understanding of postpartum depression, bipolar disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Much of this research has been conducted by the National Institutes of Health and the nation‘s leading academic institutions.
Safe and effective treatments are available and may include talk therapy, medication or a combination of the two. Rigorous, published, peer-reviewed research clearly demonstrates that treatment works.
Medications can be an important and even life-saving part of a comprehensive and individualized treatment plan. As in other areas of medicine, medications are a safe and effective way to improve the quality of life for millions of Americans who have mental health concerns.
Mental health is a critical ingredient of overall health. It is unfortunate that in the face of this remarkable scientific and clinical progress, that a small number of individuals and groups persist in questioning its legitimacy. Comments such as those of Mr. Cruise only serve to perpetuate stigma.

Greg Paffhouse • CEO
Northern Lakes
Community Mental Health

God bless Benzie
The recent events that have taken place in our small county have been almost overwhelming.
First, the drug bust of young people in Elberta, a prime example of what prohibition and our failed drug policies cause... criminal activity, the lure of easy money, etc. It broke my heart to learn that one of these, a young woman with children, grew up with my daughters. My thoughts were, “What is to become of her babies and will she learn a life-lesson from this?”
Of course, this only adds fuel to the fire against responsible, adult cannabis consumers who are risking their own welfare to fight for change in the laws. One has to ask, “Who is the REAL criminal here?”
Next came the sound defeat for the third time of the public safety millage... we, the people have spoken loud & clear that we can’t afford any more. In the same breath, we need to support and defend our sheriff and his department for the fine, professional job that they are doing to protect and serve us.
Then there was Michigan and Benzie’s largest pot bust... 4,579 plants, and to think that they were growing almost right under my nose!
I had to wonder if this was simply a re-seeding of last year’s crop of 1,600 found in the same place, and I thought about the fact that they were found and pulled the day before the millage vote... nice try, guys.
I thought, “What a waste of good medicine for the patients here in Benzie when they burn this crop,” but upon opening my Bible for daily devotions, my eyes fell upon the verse, “Offer up to Heaven as a sweet, smelling sacrifice unto God.” He loves that aroma, ‘cause, after all, He is the one who created it!
Finally, the death of Benzie County Sheriff‘s Deputy Cory Lee Gunther. “Why, God!?....this is just too much for any of us to handle! My tears flowed as I prayed for Jennie, his daughters, his family, his co-workers and his friends. It made me think of my own son who is a sergeant with the Manistee police and was one of the six motorcyclists to lead Cory’s procession. The dangers that he faces everyday. At Cory’s funeral, as I watched the procession arrive at the school, even in my sorrow, I thought of how fortunate I am to live in such a caring community. Grant Sowa’s words still echo in my ears... “Cory was one of those rare officers who was able to administer justice with compassion,” and again I thought of how my own son is that way and it does this old heart good. I dare say that if Cory had lived, he might have been sheriff someday. And his legacy so finely written can be summed up in these trueful words, “LOVE NEVER FAILS!”
God bless Benzie County.

Rev. Steven B.Thompson • Benzonia

Don‘t forget your roots
This letter is in response to Larry Ray’s letter, from Lake Leelanau, “No More Moore.”
I’ll bet that he is glad to be retired from General Motors at this point in the company’s history. By the way, I saw “Roger and Me.” In a nutshell it was about the adverse effect on the Flint area due to General Motors‘ cutbacks and job losses.
I think that it would be safe to say that six months or even a year ago, many of the young people that attended the Traverse City Film Festival had never heard of Michael Moore and his political beliefs. I’m sure many of the senior citizens couldn’t care less. People came to see the movies.
The movies at the open space were classics. The slogan, “Just Great Movies,” said it all. Forget about Michael Moore and look at what the Traverse City Film Festival did for the local economy. Isn’t the agenda of both conservatives and liberals to have a good working economy?
In regards to General Motors and the other automobile manufacturers, they have paid very nice wage and benefit packages to associates on both sides of the bargaining table. People on the company’s side of the table were always happy when the labor unions negotiated good contractual agreements for the hourly union members, because it meant that the salary associates would reap the same benefits.
Most of the baby boomers that have worked for General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, etc. have made very good lives for themselves; so good, that I think that some of the union members, and or their children, have forgotten where they came from.
Farming was the backbone of this country. Manufacturing and the labor unions created the middle class. If the two leading political parties don’t come in from the far right and the far left and meet on the middle ground, we just might become a country of the haves and the have nots.
P.S. You’re damn right I support the troops.

Bill Manny • TC