Politics And Peer Pressure (In The Aftermath Of Newtown)

There's a great song by the group, "Bowling For Soup" called "High School Never Ends."  All of us "suffered" from the non-stop stress of peer pressure in high school and the unrelenting (and exhausting) social demands to "fit in."  As the song points out, many of us believed peer pressure would end as we left school behind.

It doesn't.   And I've been fascinated by the "group dynamic" ever since serving in the Iowa Legislature.  Groups tend to create their own self-contained culture and peer pressure dynamic.   Laws have dramatic consequences.  And two different peer groups--the House and the Senate--will look at a proposed bill in much different ways.  Each body has its own culture, dynamic, and, yes, peer pressure.

We see peer pressure nationally applied all the time within our political culture.  I watched CNN's coverage of the aftermath of the Newtown Connecticut shootings this morning.  Each CNN host is blatantly rolling their eyes or shaking their heads if any policy proposal is advanced that DOESN'T involve gun control.

I think liberals have been especially good at this over the years...creating a peer pressure that suggests that the folks who disagree with them aren't just wrong...they are (to borrow some non-profane terms from my social networking feeds), "stupid," "bizarre," or "evil."  In summary:  "ALL the cool kids agree with us."

And, yes, I agree that we need to have a conversation about what we can do in the aftermath of Newtown--if for no other reason than the primal need to feel like we are regaining control of what appears to us to be uncontrollable evil.  But I stand with Peter Wehner against the politics of moral posturing:

The danger, then, is that the powerful emotions of this moment lead us to act in ways that don’t actually address the problem–but do give the appearance of having achieved something worthwhile.

Of course, I lean libertarian and I am an optimist when it comes to believing in people--and that's going to impact my views.  But I am also practical.  Practical, in this instance, can get you branded as "uncaring," if you reject emotional peer pressure and instead look for workable solutions.

I have delayed posting about Newtown because I didn't have anything new to offer beyond what was being said--and there is a LOT being said.

But I will tell you that, while in the Iowa legislature, I served on both the budget committee that funded our prisons and a study committee regarding our mental health system.  So I do have a unique experience with these issues.

Policymakers have made a decision to provide less "inpatient" treatment for the mentally ill (we formerly called that "institutionalization") and more "outpatient" treatment.   We think that is compassionate.

But families will often struggle with caring for a mentally ill relative until some do the desperate thing and kick them out of the house.    If that person eventually commits a crime...we end up institutionalizing that person anyway--just in a prison.    They will then receive minimal treatment at best--in most cases, they'll simply be heavily medicated.  And they won't get well.

We should fund more inpatient treatment for the mentally ill.  We are already paying for their "care" in prison.  It's just a matter of doing what will work...or doing what the cool kids on CNN are demanding.