WASHINGTON — It is my understanding that being “woke” means that we cannot talk about history or the past, about things like “slavery in America and suicides in America,” as such topics could make white people, especially white men, uncomfortable.

Yes, as Jack Nicholson once exclaimed in a film, “You cannot handle the truth!”

Suicide, which is closely related to mental illness, is one of the issues that we simply cannot talk about given our woke sensibilities – some people would rather not deal with it.

So the issue is masked. Some want to blame it on the means by which these folks strike out – you know – the gun. But then we see a mentally ill person stab nearly a dozen folks in a Walmart or in Idaho where the now infamous Bryan Kohberger killed his victims with a knife.

The mentally ill folks who are striking out violently are nearly all males. The vast majority who go on shooting rampages are white men. Nearly 80% of the mentally ill who take their own lives are also white men.

But we do not want to talk about it. We do not want to get at the root causes which could change the trajectory of these mass murders and suicides in America.

It is the silent crisis in America. But anything from the past (or present) that makes white men feel bad about themselves cannot be dealt with at all. That has to be the reason why for decades America has been refusing to seriously deal with this silent crisis that is only getting worse.

The city of Los Angeles has 72,000 people who are living on the streets – most if not all of those folks have a mental illness. It is the cause. We do not care to really find out so we can change this dismal fact. The homelessness rate in America has grown by nearly 20 percent in just the last year.

President Donald Trump’s recently signed executive order on homelessness in America attempts at least to acknowledge the problem. It may not be the solution but at least it should increase dialogue on the issue. One thing is for certain, it is not just a housing problem, just like guns are not the root problem behind suicides or mass murders.

Yet, in the case of mass murders followed often by suicide of the killer, we spend millions of dollars after the fact trying to find out why? Ah… a little too late for that. And how would that make things better? The dead will continue to be dead

Economics. Imagine, idealistically, if all the homeless folks in America had real jobs. Then they would likely not be homeless. They would not need Medicaid. They would not need government assistance. They would be producing revenue in the form of taxes to the state and federal governments. Most would no longer be depressed

Where could that lead, idealistically? More tax revenue from more people working could result in our being able to balance our federal budget. Our government has been running deficits for this entire century. Just imagine.

We should have congressional hearings on “job creation” in America and mental illness in America – for starters. Ask the American people for their ideas. I have mine. There are millions of Americans who can and want to help.

For example, when I created a debit card for welfare recipients while serving as Chairman of the Welfare Reform Task Force for the GOP, about 30 years ago, it was revolutionary. It was not all my idea. It was inspired by folks in a barber shop, my constituents. In an effort to stop drug dealers from selling drugs to mothers receiving welfare benefits who were using drugs, I sought to take cash out of the welfare system by replacing it with a debit card. Why? Because at the time, drug dealers did not take “plastic” (a debit card).

As an amateur social scientist, I have always tried to understand other peoples’ cultures, their likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses – not to deny people access or cause them pain like a card-carrying member of the Ku Klux Klan, but in order to get the maximum out of people, to identify their talents and help them blossom. God has given us all magnificent talents. Some, unfortunately, for one reason or another, do not get the most out of their God-given skills, and that hurts America.

People killing others and often themselves is the classic cry for help. And far too many will take the lives of others due largely to a mental illness.

mhere will be 42,000 women who will die from breast cancer this year. The National Institute of Health will spend $8 billion on breast cancer research, which is largely connected to women’s health. There will be 50,000 people who will die via suicide, 80% of them white men. The National Institute of Mental Health will spend just $2.5 billion on mental health which is disproportionately associated with white men. Where is the logic?

Instead of working on this serious issue, some members of Congress would rather spend time trying to figure out who was the biggest villain during the 2016 elections, while other members of Congress spend an inordinate amount of time trying to determine the extent of former President Joe Biden’s cognitive decline. The follies of their actions ultimately, however, result in the unnecessary lok men uncomfortable – heaven forbid they become part of the woke crowd. They rather “make believe” there is nothing to discuss.

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Gary Franks served three terms as a congressman from Connecticut’s 5th District. He was the first Black conservative elected to Congress and first Black Republican elected to the House in nearly 60 years. Host: Podcast “We Speak Frankly” www.garyfranksphilanthropy.org