Jesse Jackson's Story Says Much About the Jacksons, Chicago Politics and Our Changed Feelings About Mental Illness

An insightful story - about American politics and about us as an evolving society - is to be found in the New York Times article about Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr.

The piece says that Jackson - incredibly to some - is actually on the ballot for the Congressional race in his Chicago home district.

This occurs as he has been coping with a bipolar disorder that laid him low, as the outside world wondered about the cause of his sudden disappearance from the political scene.

Some are now saying that, even though Jackson is making no appearances, distributing no fliers, and speaking to no constituents, he is likely to win his race.

In like the Pope, as Archie Bunker used to say.

This shows most of all the arrogance of Chicago politics - as well as, I suppose we'd have to say, given what's been happening in New York with Vito Lopez and Sheldon Silver, the arrogance of big city American politics broadly.

But it also shows how our reaction, as an American family, to mental illness has advanced over the past three decades or so.

It touched me that one of the people to have visited Jackson in his dark night of the soul was Ohio politician Dennis Kucinich, who has shown himself to be one of the most courageous and principled politicians on the nation scene these past 15 years.

Anyway, Times story here: http://nyti.ms/RAfS8t

(Sent from a smartphone. Excuse typos.)