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Under the pretext of public health and safety, the government could exploit mental health care to target and imprison dissidents, activists, and individuals on government watch lists.Show more

If not addressed promptly, this could lead to an alarming situation where government officials freely violate citizens' First and Fourth Amendment rights.

The alarming process has already begun. In various communities, police have been granted authority to forcibly detain individuals based solely on their own judgment of potential mental illness, even when those individuals pose no threat to others.

For instance, in New York City, individuals may be forcibly hospitalized for exhibiting "firmly held beliefs not congruent with cultural ideas," showing a "willingness to engage in meaningful discussion," having "excessive fears of specific stimuli," or refusing "voluntary treatment recommendations."

These programs, supposedly designed to address homelessness, become more concerning when combined with advancing mass surveillance technologies, artificial intelligence-driven programs that track individuals by their biometrics and behavior, mental health sensor data monitored by government agencies like HARPA, threat assessments, behavioral sensing warnings, precrime initiatives, red flag gun laws, and mental health first-aid programs meant to identify potential threats to public safety. This combination creates a dangerous environment that punishes so-called "thought crimes."

Federal officials are even exploring ways to include "identifiable patient data," such as mental health and behavioral health information, into their surveillance toolkit.

These practices bear eerie similarities to the gulags of the Cold War-era Soviet Union, where dissidents and political opponents were labeled mentally ill and confined to psychiatric hospitals, subject to inhumane treatment.

In the United States, veterans and activists are increasingly being targeted for expressing discontent or opposition to the government's policies. Red flag gun laws, civil commitment laws, and the pathologizing of dissent are all part of a disturbing trend where the government silences and disarms those who challenge its authority.

The government's misuse of mental health as a means to neutralize critics and potential adversaries is deeply concerning. By granting such power to government agencies, courts, and law enforcement, citizens' rights are threatened, and dissent is turned into a punishable offense.

We are witnessing the dangerous evolution of legitimate government responses, such as the war on terror, drugs, illegal immigration, and COVID-19, into tools of control, compliance, and surveillance. If we do not question, criticize, and disobey when necessary, we risk losing the foundations of a free and just society. The time to act is now before civilization itself faces dire consequences.