Like many other families—perhaps most—I have experienced excruciating heartbreak from losing family members because of mental illness and addiction issues. Pain from such losses never ends.
Recent data shows that U.S. deaths from suicide, alcohol and opioids totaled more than 156,000 in a one-year period. Numbers have risen for a variety of reasons—Covid, access to fentanyl, border security issues, and more.
Some users and abusers have been saved thanks to rehabilitation, counseling, therapies, and support groups. Hunter Biden is one of the lucky ones. Read his book Beautiful Things: A Memoir to learn how serious his addiction was and how arduous his road to recovery. That is why I find jokes and wisecracks about Hunter Biden’s addiction unconscionable, heartless, and just plain wrong.
Should Hunter Biden pay taxes he owes to the federal government? Absolutely. (And he has.) Should Hunter Biden’s business dealings in Ukraine and China be analyzed and must he be brought to task for any wrongdoings? Absolutely. And trust me, no stone is being left unturned.
But is it wrong to mock Hunter Biden for his former drug use? To make jokes about the cocaine packet found in the White House? Is it wrong to suggest that President Biden should hide his troubled son from public view? I say a resounding yes.
As a nation, we must celebrate those who have conquered their demons and come out victorious on the other side. We should encourage their continued sobriety and do whatever is in our power to promote a continued and sustained recovery. Many of us reading this article know loved ones who have reached a recovery status only to stumble and fall back into the abyss of alcohol or opioid addiction or acute depression. Remember the struggles of Heath Ledger, Kurt Cobain, Whitney Huston, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and River Phoenix to name only a few.
It is a tenuous and arduous task to sustain sobriety. Constant ridicule and mocking insults are not helpful. They harm and they hurt.
Joe Biden has been a good father to his son. He has supported him and stood by him in times of trouble. He applauds his son’s sobriety as he should. And he understands that addiction is a disease—not evidence of lack of character.
The State of Maryland is not immune to the trauma of substance abuse. In 2021, Maryland recorded 2,460 opioid overdose deaths. Such drug induced deaths in Maryland exceed the national average. One study reported that more than eight percent of Marylanders reported using illicit drugs in the past month.
So instead of criticizing the shortcomings of those who suffer from these maladies, what steps should we as a nation take to reduce the preponderance of such dreadful statistics? Here are just a few suggestions from various mental health organizations.
Expand access to substance use prevention programs and mental health programs in schools.
Increase access to mental health and substance use healthcare through full enforcement of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act.
Reduce availability of illicit opioids.
Limit access to lethal means of suicide.
Expand efforts to combat stigmas about mental health issues.
Expand the mental health and substance use treatment workforce.
Build community capacity for early identification and intervention with individuals who require mental healthcare.
And finally, and most importantly, show compassion, kindness, and support for those who travel that difficult road to recovery. Dusty Springfield said it best: Let’s “put a little love in our hearts.”
Maria Grant was principal-in-charge of a federal human capital practice at an international consulting firm. While on the Eastern Shore, she focuses on writing, music, reading, gardening, and nature.
Julie Susman says
Well said Maria!
Maureen Curry says
Well said, Maria Grant. Thank you for your insight.
Carol Voyles says
❤️
Darrell parsons says
Thank you for this.
Eric Ploeg says
C’mon man, are you being paid to write excuses for the Biden family?
Anne C Stalfort says
Wonderful commentary, especially your last paragraph.
Fred endy says
Joe Biden to me was a terrible father,he spoiled all his children and he de serves what he got
Suzanne Brannegan says
Very well said….Thank you!!!
Melissa says
❤️❤️
Thomas E. HIll says
Thank you, Mara. What I don’t understand is why Joe Biden having a son who has had such issues with drugs doesn’t move heaven and earth to stop the fentanyl and other drugs that come in through our southern border???
Wilson Dean says
Maria, great article. Addiction of any kind knows no political boundaries and requires our compassion towards everyone without consideration of their political feelings or affiliation. It is pathetic to see people view Hunter Biden’s problems as an opportunity to ridicule him (and his father) because of their Democratic politics. I am the polar opposite of being a Trump fan, but I do not feel anything but sorrow for the death of the former President’s brother Fred who struggled with alcoholism for much of his life and died at the age of 43. People who feel the need to extend their politics into other people’s family tragedies need to grow up and display some genuine humanity.
Reed Fawell 3 says
Did Craig Fuller’s ploy work?
Is Hunter a 53 year old child without will?
Or is he a demigod?
And what do we do with the alien $17.5 million now grown to $20 million? And Navy? And the brothers’ widow? And the twisted out of shape federal plea agreement, and justice system now? And foreign policy?
Is Hunter now simply a bad boy victim? Needing a mother’s warmth, and care, and the state’s too, and mine as well?