Letter to the Editor |Should Illinois legalize assisted-suicide?

Dear Editor,

Should Illinois legalize assisted-suicide? Some state senators think so. If allowed, vulnerable people who are sick, elderly, disabled, and those with mental illness and dementia will become targets.

As the father of a Downs Syndrome toddler, I am extremely alarmed by this proposal.

No one should be comfortable with promoting a cheaper, easier alternative to life’s struggles in order to ignore their responsibilities to people who need their help.

Canada’s law, with 79% support, was promoted as a last resort for the terminally ill. Support has plummeted to 30% because of the disregard toward vulnerable citizens such as anyone with an illness and those who are disabled.

Canadians facing homelessness and poverty are feeling compelled to end their lives rather than be a “burden” to society.

In 2023, 76.2% of Belgium euthanasia was administered to people with physical and psychological issues, including personality disorders, depression, and Alzheimer’s.

A Netherland law that took effect on February 1, 2024, allows parents to euthanize their children even if the child doesn’t want to be killed.

Proponents can call it “dignity,” but it is cruel and heartless to disregard human life.

If you agree, please let your state senator know.

David E. Smith, Executive Director
Illinois Family Institute

It’s time to talk about rural mental health challenges

In farming, you often have to work even when you're not feeling well. There are no options to call off or get substitutes when you need time off. The strong work ethic passed down from fathers to sons (and daughters in many cases) is admirable, but it can lead to medical issues if not managed properly.

Photo: Melissa Mayes/PEXELS

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by Tim Ditman
OSF Healthcare

ALTON - While living in Greene County, Illinois, in the 1980s and 1990s, Lea Anne Varble took a gut punch each time she heard about a suicide in her community. Eight to 10 in total in 15 years, she says.

“It just took me aback,” she says.

What the tragedies had in common: the person faced mental health challenges common to a rural setting.

Lea Anne Varble

Varble, a clinical psychotherapist at OSF HealthCare, knew she had to do something about it. So not only did she devote higher education time to studying the problem, but she’s also now getting the word out about the resources available.

The issues

Varble says stress and isolation are often experienced by people living in a rural setting, such as a farmer. There’s also a desire to be self-sufficient – a trope associated with farmers and other rural residents for decades.

“People living rurally often are independent. So, when stress comes, they want to handle it on their own,” Varble says.

Varble also knows the issues – stress, anxiety and even depression – of planting and harvest season.

“Hours and hours,” in the field, she says. “You’re expected to keep working even if you don’t feel well. Even if the stress is getting to you. You have to get up and do it again. Or at least that’s what your father before you did and his father before him.”

The work ethic can be admirable, but it can lead to medical issues if left unchecked.

And, the heads of some rural households are caring for two generations: their kids and their parents. School, chronic illnesses and advanced care planning are just more things to add to the to-do list. Varble adds that older adults in a rural setting are more likely to see themselves as a burden and choose to end their life.

Treatment

Varble says getting better starts simply with noticing the problem and talking about it with a trusted adult, like a friend, family member, faith leader or a medical professional.

The good news is that mental health professionals have made strides in this area, such as telemedicine and mobile health services. And society is more willing to talk about mental health. Farming magazines have articles on mental health, for example.

Other ways to help that Varble has picked up over the years:

• Get to know your neighbors and local organizations, like churches and businesses. Then, lean on them for help when the stress gets to be too much.
• Look into resources offered by state or federal agencies. In Illinois, where Varble works, the Family Farm Resource Initiative operates a 24/7 hotline and email.

  “Individuals can receive support from trained professionals who understand the unique challenges faced by those in the agricultural sector,” the initiative website states. “The helpline offers specialized assistance, including mental health resources and agriculture-related support, ensuring that farm families have access to the help they need.”
   

• Health care professionals should encourage people with rural backgrounds to become therapists.

“It’s someone from their community who understands what’s going on,” Varble says.

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Guest Commentary | School bullying must stop, everyone must work together

by Glenn Mollette, Guest Commentator

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Four New Jersey teenagers have been charged in connection with the attack of a 14-year-old girl who later took her own life after video of the incident was posted on social media.

One juvenile is charged with aggravated assault, two juveniles are charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated assault and one juvenile is charged with harassment, Ocean County prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer told CBS News in an email.

Adriana Kuch, 14, was found dead in her Bayville home on February 3, two days after the disturbing video of the attack at Central Regional High School was posted online. The video showed girls throwing a drink at the teen, then kicking and dragging her down school hallways. They pushed Adriana into red lockers lining the school hallways and one of the girls in a pink shirt punched Kuch repeatedly.

When I was an elementary child riding the school bus, we had a few fights on the bus. One young man who didn’t live that far from me was constantly getting into fights on the school bus. One day he had a kid down repeatedly punching him in the face. The bus driver stopped the bus and escorted both boys off the bus while still a couple of miles from their homes. We then drove off and left them on the road.

I don’t recall seeing the fight continue as they now had to walk or hitchhike a ride to get home. Since the one boy was being beaten so bad, I don’t think the driver made the best decision since the other kid could have finished him off on the rural road we were traveling. However, it did appear the fight had stopped as we drove off. Most likely not having a bus audience, bleeding and having to walk home changed the scenario.

In the sixties and seventies there were bad things that happened in schools that often got swept under the rug. With no social media kids usually ended up working it out or staying away from people we didn’t like. Often many of us never took our school problems home because our parents had enough problems without having to worry about our school fusses. Or, we were afraid we might get in trouble at home.

School children face challenges. There are ongoing pressures from bullies who must be corralled and disciplined, dismissed from school or in some cases put in a place where they can get rehabilitation and help for their psychotic issues.

Locking a 14-year-old up in jail for years solves nothing. However, kids that bring about injury or death to another student need mental help and rehabilitation before being freed to invoke pain on someone again. Most likely if your family has lost a family member to a bully you want the offender locked up for life.

Even though my school era was not a perfect world schoolteachers and principals had authority to paddle our butts. They had authority to discipline us, suspend us from school and could put bite with their bark. We knew the teachers ruled and we respected them. I can remember see paddling’s that I never wanted to get and received a couple myself.

No school has the ability to patrol every corner of a school facility. Bullying, fights and bad things typically occur in unsupervised spaces. Schools can’t hire enough security guards or have enough monitors to patrol ever corner.

Every day in every state in America a private school is starting or the ground work is being formulated.

Ten years from now almost every city and even small community in America will have a private or faith-based school. Some of these will only be elementary schools but many have or will develop junior and senior highs. Such schools are not free of their own issues but parents across America are desperate for safe places for their kids.

Parents want a place where there is zero tolerance of bullies and an administration who means business about protecting the children. They want an environment where their children can be mentored, taught and prepared better for life, college or to move into adult jobs.

Parents don’t want a school who they feel is working against them or hiding things from them.

Life is like this. The world is like a jungle most days. There are bullies in the workplaces, neighborhoods and mean people can be found all over. This is why we have the right to call 911. We can file charges against people with the police. We should have the right to carry a firearm and defend ourselves. We have to work to help each other and protect each other.

Teachers, administrators, parents and students must work together for safety and security. Children and teachers must feel safe with an environment free from bullying, hazing or intimidation. Kids should not have to wake up every day fearful of going to school. Neither should the school staff and parents.

The issue of bullying and school safety requires school boards, all staff, parents and students to work together. It’s not a task for a few to accomplish but a job for us all.

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Dr. Glenn Mollette is a syndicated American columnist and author of Grandpa's Store, American Issues, and ten other books. He is read in all 50 states. The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily representative of any other group or organization.

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This article is the sole opinions of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of The Sentinel. We welcome comments and views from our readers. Submit your letters to the editor or commentary on a current event 24/7 to editor@oursentinel.com.

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