Changing the Perspective of the Mentally Ill

Society often isolates mentally ill people and labels them simply as the mentally insane. The truth is that most of these mental patients are not like Adam Lanza, the man who was responsible for the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School, or like James Holmes, the man who murdered twelve innocent lives in the a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado.

Change needs to begin with the media. The media publicizes these tragedies by questioning the mental capacity of the perpetrators. They put off these people as crazy simply because they believe that sane people are incapable of committing such a horrendous crime. They say that change needs to be made to keep these crazy people off the streets and separated from society. The people who commit these terrible crimes are the exception when it comes to the aggression of mental patients. The Adam Lanza and James Holmes of the world give mental patients bad reputations. By no means do they define the population of mental patients.

People often reject mental patients from any opportunities of living a normal or close to normal life. Society needs to realize that the mentally ill are real people. They have real dreams and emotions. They are just like any other human being in society. They should be given the attention they need to make the most out of their lives.

I have a dream that people will finally see that mental patients are not crazy but are people who are willing to be contributing members of society.

I have a dream that the mentally ill will be given a chance. They will be given the opportunity to live a life that every human being deserves to have.