Can Kindness Solve the Problem of Mental Illness?

I recently read an opinion piece by Lee Siegel in The New York Times entitled “Why is America so Depressed?”  The subtitle is what drew me in, however, I have to confess that after reading the article that my response to it, through this post, has changed.

The subtitle was “It’s no coincidence that our politics and our mental health have declined so rapidly, at the same time.”  I read the article prepared to read another meme about how one party is right and one party is wrong. Or why a certain group of people who believe a certain way are to blame for all of the problems in our society today.  What I came away with was an agreement with Mr. Siegel about the mental health problem in our country today.