Better Public Relations will not fix this

 "You can't talk your way out of problems you've behaved yourself into." - Stephen Covey

 I read this article with a growing sense of disgust and annoyance.  Here's the headline of it:

'West Wing' cast urges struggling Americans to seek help

 Here's the first two paragraphs of the article:

WASHINGTON — (AP) — As more Americans struggle with depression and anxiety, the cast of “The West Wing” teamed up with the Biden administration on Thursday to share a simple message: you are not alone.

The star-studded cast of the drama series that, even years after being off air maintains a strong fan base, participated in a roundtable discussion with the White House to share their own stories of childhood abuse, isolation during the COVID-19 and struggles to help their children navigate the anxiety-inducing world of social media.

If you choose to read the entire article, you will find no mention of any attempt to find and address root causes of why people are "struggling with depression and anxiety".  This is odd, is it not?  

It seems to me that if an organization with power and money (like the Biden Administration) were seriously concerned about mental health issues, they would tackle this from a different angle than: "Call 1-800-GET-HELP to speak with a professional counselor - operators are waiting!"

Wouldn't it be more appropriate to address the *underlying causes* of "depression and anxiety"?  Causes like perhaps: Lack of opportunity, rising and undeniable poverty, homelessness, debt, medical issues, and unemployment.  Maybe if we correct those, it might solve much of the accompanying mental distress these conditions cause? 

Below:  The 1930's version of a modern tent city.  At least back then, they admitted that things were really, really bad.

 Instead, of admitting there's a problem and fixing it, they've hired actors to tell you how much they care.  Actors!!!  People whose very careers revolve around misrepresenting reality on TV!  We've now reached the point where the people in charge believe that better PR will suffice to substitute for meaningful effort to resolve a problem.

If you were ever hopeful that people in charge had any desire to make things better, it's probably realistic to give up on that hope right now.  I've long ago given up any notion that the elites give a damn about anything but padding their own finances.  These politically powerful people are the same ones who create the conditions and rules of world that the rest of us have to deal with.  And the mind-fuckery of these "we care about you" PR puff pieces tends to piss me off.  The shallow attempt at PR smoothly glossing over legitimate societal issues that are actively ignored - is really annoying.

Things are bad, and likely to get worse - although we will continue to see "feel good" articles like this attempting to put mental band-aids on difficult problems out here in reality-land.  

Here is another example of this sort of thing.  Don't read it if you have a weak stomach.

Stephen Covey is the author of today's quote, and I'd highly recommend his "Seven Habits" book.