<\/a>Bernie Sanders let the “M” word–“mental health”– slip out in the Sunday, March 6 Democratic debate in Flint, Michigan. He drew laughter at the CNN debate when he referenced the GOP slugfests as another reason to spend more on mental health programs. “We are, if elected president, going to invest a lot of money into mental health,” Sanders said. “And when you watch these Republican debates, you know why we need to invest in that.”<\/p>\n This is the elephant in the room. It\u2019s the conundrum that CNN and virtually all mainstream media outlets face. Do you address the possible underlying reasons as to why the behavior in the Republican race for the White House has been so weird?<\/p>\n The contrast between the Sunday night Democratic debate and the Thursday night Republican debate is more than startling and stark. It pushes the envelope of how we understand our species. How can two groups of candidates, coming from reasonably similar backgrounds, conduct themselves at such vastly different developmental levels. Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton in the Democratic debate are near the top level of \u201cself-actualization\u201d in Abraham Maslow\u2019s Hierarchy of Needs<\/a>. Republicans seem to be stuck in the bottom two levels, (1) physiological comfort, and (2) safety. American historians flatly state that it has never been like this before.<\/p>\n There is a maturity problem with the current Republican candidates, with the exception of John Kasich. It\u2019s not just Donald Trump. In fact, Trump is right when he accuses Ted Cruz of constantly failing to tell the truth. And Rubio seems to be at a loss to compose himself now that he\u2019s in the \u201cbig leagues.\u201d<\/p>\n Sanders posited the question, \u201cDo the Republican candidates have mental health issues that need to be addressed?\u201d This is the sanitized, and far less common, version of what many non-Republicans have been asking, \u201cAre these people crazy?\u201d<\/p>\n This takes us into very dangerous territory. Who are any of us to accuse others of being crazy? How does any accuser know that he or she is not crazy? And perhaps most importantly, is the word \u201ccrazy\u201d to pejorative for anyone to use?<\/p>\n Bernie Sanders had the good sense to use the proper language regarding the bizarre behavior of the Republican candidates. He raised the issue of mental health. And if that issue is to be raised about the candidates, does it not follow that it also should be raised about those who support the candidates?<\/p>\n Like many progressives, or more accurately, like many people, I have had my own issues with mental health. Depression and anxiety have episodically presented difficult challenges. Fortunately, I have not denied the existence of these challenges, and I have also been able to receive important help from others. I firmly believe that mental health issues should be part of our continuous discussion about ourselves as individuals and the totality of the human experience.<\/p>\n