A CONVERGENCE OF SOCIAL ILLS TEARS AT OUR SOCIETY'S FABRIC

A convergence of social ills tears at our society's fabric It took
the twin towers of New York to expose the insidious realities of
Islamic fascism.

It was the fragile dikes defeated by Hurricane Katrina that betrayed
the dysfunction of three tiers of government, the Corps of Engineers
and FEMA. A falling bridge in Minnesota was the tragic wake-up call
to a long-neglected national infrastructure. In each of these
examples we find evidence of patterned malaise, distraction and
self-interest by our leaders. In each we find the opportunity to
point a finger or look deeper into the mirror.

Mental health woes In Asheville, as across the state, we have our own
triangle of despair anchored in three disasters converging on tomorrow.

Illumination can begin with the AC-T Aug. 19 editorial on our failed
state mental health system. Scapegoating one bureaucrat for recent
misjudgment does not conceal a mental health system that was
undermined by many hands over many years. It began in the 1960s with
an unsustainable government promise establishing a statewide system
available to all. It evolved into a complex nightmare in the 1980s,
when that same government's controls and inefficiencies generated
costs of service double that of private providers.

It ended with the abandonment of earlier promises and a bungled
transition to a state-funded hybrid system morphing a safety net into
a mineshaft.

Not one of the host of players -- elected or appointed -- who were
complacent or complicit in the demise, is being held accountable. The
consequences, as usual, are reserved for the victims.

Growing drug culture Disaster two can be found in our growing drug culture.

In a society that is losing its moral compass, vision and ability to
separate what feels good from what is good, drugs, both legal and
illegal, have become a parachute from misery.

We allow open-air drug markets and drug dens in our public housing
developments and other vulnerable neighborhoods to operate as
recruiting stations for a procession of new users, dealers and lost
children. Ignoring the fact that no one ever got to a better place
through the abuse of drugs, society as a whole looks the other way
and hopes it is not their home, car, business or family that is the
next one hurt by an addict who can't find help in our mental health
system but who can easily dodge a broken court system.

Criminal justice burden North Carolina is 48th in the nation for
state funding of its criminal justice system.

By the time this overburdened structure holds the average drug dealer
or social predator accountable, their career path has been cemented
several steps beyond probable redemption. Impaired with antiquated
technology and absurd manpower constraints, what can be more aptly
called a system of misjustice plea bargains 98 percent of its cases
and places our police at risk with the fact that a crack dealer must
be caught and convicted three or more times to get any meaningful
jail time. Pumpkins are tendered more creative energies at Halloween
than a state government loath to create a 21st century system of
timely justice and meaningful sentencing alternatives necessary to
ensure that crime does not pay. Anyone who takes the time to look
deeper at our issues of homelessness, the harsh realities of public
housing, the horrific dropout rate of our black students, child and
spouse abuse, prostitution and a host of other social ills, will find
this triangle of despair working in the background. While we chase
symptoms, abandon our historical success equation of liberty,
opportunity and responsibility, and increase our investment in
entitlement programs, the noose of reality squeezes ever tighter.
Thomas Edison once shared that, "Opportunity is missed by most people
because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." The folks in
Raleigh wear suits, and while they pretend and we ignore, the heart
is leaking out of our society.

It remains to be seen if we have the courage to take hold of this
triangle of despair with the urgency necessary or if it will continue
to successfully seize our future.

Carl Mumpower is a military veteran who currently serves on the
Asheville City Council. He lives in Asheville.