Forced lockup if a government worker or court declares you “mentally ill”?

That’s what’s happening in California.

What could go wrong?

Let me explain…

Governor Gavin Newsom’s number one issue for the recent California primary election was heavily promoting Proposition 1, which authorizes $10 billion in bonds to build mental health treatment facilities, is deceptive, unaffordable, and dangerous.

The Governor said it was for building homes for the homeless, and the ads touted the tagline “Treatment Not Tents.”

However, it only provides housing for about 3% of the over 181,399 people who are homeless in California… enriching select builders.

Conservative and Christian groups and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Northern California were among the opponents of Proposition 1.

The new law will result in forced treatment and institutionalization under “CARE Court, which will allow relatives… health care providers… and other outreach workers to ask state courts to compel individuals with mental illness or abuse disorders to accept forced treatment instead of the community-based mental health services and housing” that is less expensive and coercive.

Proposition 1 will cost California taxpayers more than $6.38 billion in a state riddled with over $70 billion in debt and will also primarily fund forced treatments and institutionalization.

It’s a terrifying repeat of what happened over 50 years ago. Back then, Ronald Reagan and others decried psychiatric abuse and forced lockups.

Replacing voluntary groups and religious mission services with involuntary institutionalization is morally wrong and will open the door to abuse.

One of my favorite books I saved from college was by Dr. Thomas Szasz, a Hungarian American psychiatrist who was critical of involuntary psychiatric coercion.

In his book, The Myth of Mental Illness, Szasz fundamentally challenged the way society views and treats mental disorders.

It was when family members, their heirs, or others could use the court to elicit a “problem” or “emergency.” The court’s coercive use of the medical/psychological industry was an abuse of power.

Szasz’s book describes what we call “mental illness” as “a problem in living, not a mental disease in the traditional sense.”

Szasz was very critical of the moral and scientific foundations of psychiatry, especially involuntary and forced psychiatric imprisonment in silent facilities and the concept of psychiatric coercion.

He believed that mental illness is not a literal disease but rather challenges related to behaviors, emotions, and thoughts that society finds unacceptable or difficult to understand.

He did not address drug abuse and addiction plaguing many homeless today.

Szasz viewed involuntary commitment and treatment as coercive and viewed it as a form of social control that infringes on individual rights and liberties.

Mental illness was being used as a justification for detaining individuals against their will and forcing treatments.

State control of psychiatry, which Szasz termed “The Therapeutic State,” is a way for the state to use psychiatry to control and manage individuals who are seen as “problematic.” This allows the state to expand its reach into the lives of its citizens under the guise of “health care.”

During the 1980s, the Reagan administration in California implemented significant changes to health policies and court abuse and stopped the injustice of coerced imprisonment.

Now Newsom has opened the door again for abuse… and a terrible waste of taxpayer money.

What could go wrong?

Action Steps:

1) Watch Clint Eastwood’s movie The Changeling. It’s based on a true story about single mother Christine Collins (Angelina Jolie), who arrives home to find her son, Walter, gone. Her prayers are answered five months later when Walter is found in Illinois. But to Christine’s horror, the boy who steps off the train is not her son. Authorities vehemently dispute Christine’s claim and eventually place Christine in a mental facility, declaring she is mentally ill. Her one ally is a clergyman (John Malkovich) who helps expose corruption in the Los Angeles Police Department and government. You can stream The Changeling through Apple TV or Amazon Prime or watch it for free with commercials on Plex.

2) Order my book, The Great Deception: 10 Shocking Dangers and the Blueprint for Rescuing the American Dream.

In Chapter 5: Danger #4: Weaponization of the Government, we unravel the growth of the Deep State under the Obama administration. Operating beneath the public’s gaze, the government’s institutions, including the DOJ, FBI, and CIA, were weaponized to target Conservatives, Christians, Republicans, and Libertarians. Chapter 5 explores the covert tactics to silence dissent and control the narrative.

Chapter 5 offers a roadmap for resistance. Discover actionable steps to counter the Deep State’s influence and protect the values that make America great. Learn how to navigate the challenges presented by this unprecedented assault on democracy.

The Great Deception: 10 Shocking Dangers and the Blueprint for Rescuing the American Dream exposes lies, myths, and distortions from the media and politicians.

It gives you answers and solutions to turning America around…

It allows you to share these dangers and a solution to cutting through the deception with friends and family.

It exposes under-the-radar and little-known behind-the-scenes reasons America is falling backward and how to make it move again.

Click here to get The Great Deception – Craig Huey

You can order the book on Amazon HERE.

Or you can get the audiobook version HERE

You can also get an autographed edition online HERE or by phone at 615-814-6633.

You can also send a check for $26.13 (including shipping) payable to Media Specialists and send it to this address:

Media Specialists

1313 4^th Ave N

Nashville, TN 37208