Dear Editor,
On Thursday, November 12, WEAR-TV and Twelve Oaks hosted a town hall meeting on the campus of Pensacola State College at the WSRE Amos Studio. The meeting addressed mental illness and included the subtitle “Your Voice Your Future.” A panel of four people, well-associated with mental illness, were ready to answer questions and share information. The meeting was both televised and streamed on-line and may soon be available to review. The estimated audience was a couple of hundred in the studio, including the mayor of Pensacola, and thousands on-line. Questions and comments were taken from those in attendance and those sending texts, e-mails, and tweets. From the host, to the co-hosts and the panel of four, they did an excellent job of addressing many of the concerns and issues associated with mental illness. They treated every person, question, and issue with dignity. People addressed the need for more assistance, where to get assistance, and even what assistance had been helpful. One of the issues needs further objective investigation. Since mental illness is wide spread across our country and is affecting more and more people and families, now estimated at between 1 in 4 and 1 in 5 people are personally dealing with mental illness, we must as a nation give consideration to the possibility of a fundamental error in society that is bringing this issue to such alarming proportions. I propose that fundamental error is the denial of our Creator. From Supreme Court decisions made in the early 1960s to governmental leaders, school boards, and classrooms across our land, we as a society have been in denial about our Creator. To say that we are nothing more than creatures that came from the slime, or from apes and monkeys, demeans the human race and takes away the very foundation for living a healthy mental and spiritual life. There is a Biblical basis for this proposition found in Romans 1. The road to good mental health for many today is a very challenging one. People suffering from mental illness are people of worth in God’s eyes and should be in ours, too. But we can improve the mental health of the next generation by going back to our national spiritual roots and acknowledging our Creator God openly in the classroom and in the public arena. That’s my voice on our future.
Pastor Jim Liberacki
East Side Baptist Church
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Growth in mental illness stems from denial of God