Suicide Prevention Month

Floor Speech

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Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight because we gather on this floor to give recognition to a growing and troubling problem in America today.

Never before have so many young people, and in particular so many African-American young people, been susceptible to the tragic influence of suicidal thoughts.

One of the things that we cannot leave out of this discussion is how much the anxiety of our politics has contributed to the overall dysfunction that has become a cancer on the lives and mental health of America's citizens.

I say to you tonight when people have to worry about political violence and insurrections, that is a strain on mental health. When people have to be concerned about losing their healthcare when they need it most; when people are concerned about the attacks on Medicaid and Medicare; when people are concerned about not being able to make decisions on their own bodies; when people are concerned about whether or not there will be a shooting in their school today; and when people have to listen to the former President of the United States demonize Haitian immigrants with absolutely no evidence for the erroneous claims he happens to be making, it is no wonder that America has become a Nation riddled with anxiety.

Let us be very clear: The will to live is connected to the conditions of one's life.

I am not a mental health expert, Mr. Speaker, but I happen to believe that people who have something to live for are often engaged in the act of living with a sense of promise and hope.

I understand that mental health diseases are real and must be treated separately, but there are a lot of people in this country who contemplate ending their lives not because they have a mental health disease but rather because the conditions in which they have to live have become overwhelming and completely debilitating.

Mr. Speaker, and when people can no longer see a future for themselves, they are more susceptible to the vicissitudes of despair.

The epidemic of opioid abuse is indicative of this analysis.

There are millions upon millions of people in this country who are simply trying to escape the conditions of their lives.

And every day they are fighting not to give in to the encroaching darkness that seems to stalk them both day and night.

And let's be honest, it is a familiar darkness.

The content of which is comprised of questions like: How will I pay my mortgage;

How can I afford rent and keep up with my car note; and

How can I pay for the college education of my children while at the same time afford school supplies for the ones who are still in elementary school.

It is a familiar darkness.

It is comprised of concerns about the future of democracy;

the right to vote;

racism and the creeping eradication of America's commitment to diversity;

the criminal justice system;

questions of war and peace; and

clean water, clean air, and clean food.

And my question tonight is this: What about them?

What are we prepared to do in this Congress to make the lives of the American people more secure and worthy of what it means to be called an American?

And contrary to what some have come to believe, not everybody in this country can pull themselves up by their own bootstraps.

There are millions of people who proverbially don't even own boots.

And I still believe that a nation of great wealth owes it to all of its citizens to provide a basic level of support, so that while it is true that not all of us will have maximum success--none of us, however, should be condemned to fail.

We have a moral and ethical obligation to make the future of this country brighter than the one we were born into.

And we do this not just in the policies we legislate, but also in the tone of our politics.

High octane rhetoric will not bring a level of ease to the hearts and minds of the American people.

And so I say to you tonight, let us not just be concerned about preventing suicide without confronting the conditions that make the lives of the American people needlessly miserable and more difficult than it has to be.

Let us dedicate ourselves to the flourishing of all people.

And let us be particularly mindful of the suffering that grows among us.

We want you to know tonight that we see you,

we hear you,

we love you,

and you are not in this battle alone.

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