My friend who saved me from taking my own life more than once studies psychology. Yet, according to presidential candidate Jeb Bush, he will end up working at a fast food joint.
“Universities ought to have skin in the game,” Bush said at an October South Carolina town hall event. “When a student shows up, they ought to say, ‘Hey, that psych major deal, that philosophy major thing, that’s great.’ It’s important to have liberal arts … but realize, you’re going to be working at Chick-fil-A”
Bush’s remarks were a classic example of his failure to vet the words flying out of his mouth. After the Oregon
shooting, the former Florida governor jumped on the GOP’s crazy train, blaming mental health for America’s mass shooting epidemic.
Hundreds of American children are no longer safe in their classrooms because of our crumbling mental health infrastructure, but we don’t need psychology majors because the degree is worthless, and they will only end up working at Chick-fil-A.
Who the hell is going to fix our broken mental health system if students don’t study psychology?
By Bush’s rationale, Americans should be content allowing their children to be murdered in the classroom because a psych degree to improve a potential shooter’s mental well-being is worthless. What we need is more engineers to fix the problem, right?
The day my psychologist is a petroleum engineer is the day Gov. Bobby Jindal and I become best friends forever.
Bush can spare us the speeches blaming liberal arts majors for our economy’s demise and the increase in unemployment. The man graduated with a degree in Latin American studies, not
biology or engineering. By Bush’s standards, his degree is no better than a psychology degree.
The only reason Jeb Bush became governor and is a presidential candidate is because he came out of the right vagina. Having a daddy in the White House will do wonders for one’s career — not a formidable knowledge of the Aztecs.
What Bush, of course, fails to realize is that psychology majors are one of the key factors in mending the future U.S. economy. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, depression causes an estimated 200 million lost workdays each year, costing employers $17 to $44 billion annually.
More than 70 percent of the 18.8 million Americans suffering from depression in a given year did not contact a mental health professional.
Calling for better mental health services in America while disparaging psychology degrees is almost as misguided as erecting a “mission accomplished” sign on a navy tanker amidst a raging Middle Eastern conflict.
Whether they’re saving lives or teaching Bush how to cope with Trump-induced stress dreams, we need more psych majors in America. Not less.
Justin DiCharia is a 21-year-old mass communication senior from Slidell, Louisiana. You can reach him on Twitter @JDiCharia