Argumentative Essay: Should People Be Homeless People?

Imagine the last time you’ve walked around your city. What do you see? Some parks? Apartment buildings? Homeless people? Usually in any relatively big city, there are pan handlers loitering on every street corner. There are tent civilizations lurking underneath bridges. Now think about the last time you’ve actually given any of these people your time or money. Chances are, you haven’t. Most people brush off these people in need with awfully presumptuous statements like “this person will spend the money on drugs and alcohol” or “why don’t they just get a job?”. Imagine how many less people would be on the streets if we just gave a few cents or we just gave these people a moment of our time? People should be required to help support these people

People should be required to be charitable due to the religions they belong to. According to Pew Research Center, over eight in ten people in the world identify with a religion of some sort (PewForum.org), and due to the fact that most of the world can be viewed through the lenses of religion, it can be one reason why people are already required to help support the poor and hungry. The most common religions in the world are the three Abrahamic religions: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Collectively, they make up approximately 55% of the world’s religions (PewForum.org). The holy books of the three major Abrahamic religions ultimately state and agree that we must support those who are less fortunate than ourselves, and do so without expectation of reward. The Bible says “Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?” (KJV Isaiah 58:7). This verse, contextually, is a statement to the Israelites; this explains to them how they should not be greedy and support each other. When the verse says

A common phrase to describe this is that empathy inspires empathy. Humans are social creatures by default. Empathy is a normal behavior that is expected of humans, and if a human for some reason lacks empathy, they are classified as mentally insufficient. A person without empathy could be diagnosed to be on the autism spectrum, or be labeled as a psychopath. If a person chooses to be charitable, it not only a signal of empathy on their part, but a trigger of said empathy on the receiver’s end. This could then, in turn, leave the receiver to want to pass on such kindness. This cycle repeats itself over and over, with each person who is touched by this anti-hedonism wanting to bring about more