As an EMT for 20 years, a recent discussion at February’s city council meeting captured my attention. The idea of having mandatory mental health checkups for Cannon Falls public safety staff was proposed. These checkups may sound compassionate, but any policy built on coercion is morally and practically wrong.
The city already offers mental health resources, and by all means, it can offer more—but offer it voluntarily. If an adult chooses not to use them, that is their responsibility, not the city’s. Offering help is proper; forcing “help” crosses a moral line.
Under the proposed discussion, police, fire and EMS personnel would be required to sit with a city-approved mental health professional once or twice a year, whether they want to or not. The police chief has said that if they do not feel like talking, they can “talk about fishing” for the allotted time. But force and compulsion remain: attend, or face the consequences of defying your employer and your government.
This is not a trivial intrusion. It is government overreach and burdensome regulation disguised as being in another’s “best interest.” Shifting responsibility from the individual to the government disregards personal responsibility and the sovereignty of the individual. When you replace free choice with mandates, you send a clear message: “You’re not trusted to run your own life.” The likely result is resentment, resignation and wasted resources— mental health professionals, who are already stretched thin, spending hours on people forced into their offices to talk, maybe about fishing, instead of on those actively seeking help.
I commend Council Members Chad Johnson and Lisa Zimmerman for raising concerns about mandates and the potential for abuse. The council should reject any compulsory mental health program. Expand and strengthen access to voluntary resources, evaluate the cost benefit of taxpayer dollars in its trial and encourage a culture where choosing help is respected, but do not resort to force as it is a road to tyranny.
Erik PortenHampton