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Moral Obligation In Eugene Debs My Brother's Keeper

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In Eugene Debs’ “My Brother’s Keeper” he contends that we are “under a moral obligation” to help our fellow man. Deb’s is a prominent socialist during the progressive era; he frequently spoke out for workers rights, being a key member of the Industrial Workers of the World. His claim falters when he fails to account for the survival nature of humans. He ignores Human Nature’s hamartia of trying to understand an issue and place a quantifiable moral obligation to solve it. In a debate that supports Deb’s claim, “Individuals Do Have A Moral Obligation To Assist People In Need”, from Moral Obligations, understanding, a community's morality, and happiness, are the main focus of defence for a moral obligation to be created. The debate, citing …show more content…

reconnecting to the counter argument’s claim that morality extends as far as our ability to comprehend positive outcomes, the simple act of giving the homeless money fails to surpass this issue. Upon seeing a homeless man, people feel morally obligated to give money. When a person gives money, their immediate response is one of reassurance in their good deed. With food banks, a community feels they contributed to helping the homeless. If they took a step back and looked at the end result of their action, it does not extend much past an immediate fruitful happy encounter. This is why moral obligations are non-existent. People do not look at the receiver's happiness, but instead, a quick “happy shot” for their own soul. In reality, giving a homeless man a dollar does not solve homelessness, it rather gives the man a reason to return there again and not pursue a means to escape homelessness. A food drive only allows homeless to be fed for a short time. Instead of looking at the real problem, the inability to sustain the basic human needs of food, water and shelter. If they actually wished to solve homelessness, giving a dollar is an insult. The concept of happiness and understanding being driving factors in moral obligations is flawed because it often confuses gratitude and knowledge for happiness and

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There are many types of people and situations that require selflessness of others, such as the homeless. For example, in Forgotten Fire, without the compassion and selflessness of Ara Sarkisisan, a retired blacksmith, Vahan would have had to live in the street and scavenge for food instead of having a well-suited life handed to him. In fact, in response to Ara Sarkisian’s hospitality, Vahan said, “Although my surroundings were new, they were not strange to me, and I felt very much at home, as though I were sharing a meal with my grandfather and a favorite cousin” (Bagdasarian 183). Because of Ara’s compassion towards Vahan’s situation, Vahan was able to spend a few nights in a warm, safe place. The informational book Poverty and Homelessness many homeless and poor people were in a similar situation in which “The federal government… runs 70 different means-tested welfare programs… that provide assistance to poor… Most of the money goes directly to poor people either as services or as something like a food stamp or medical care” (Merino 58 – 59).

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With this, he aims to sway his audience towards a different perspective, one that pushes the audience to resist against humanitarian impulses. He paints a picture of a lifeboat that seats fifty passengers and has a total capacity of sixty, allowing enough room to accommodate to ten more (para 6). Those in the lifeboat represent the rich, while those swimming outside represent the poor. However, the passengers on the boat are faced with the decision to admit only ten others when they are surrounded by one hundred people begging to get in. They cannot narrow down the pool to just ten people when everyone’s needs are the same, nor can they take in every pleading individual.

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Part I If you do not donate to organizations like The United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), you are acting just as badly as Bob. In the article “The Singer Solution to World Poverty,” Peter Singer argues about how people have all these luxurious things that are not essential to their lives or health but cannot donate money for a cause such as the UNICEF and other organizations that help people in need. The author is suggesting that every American should stop using their money to buy materialistic things and donate it to charities. Singer tries to persuade the audience by trying to get us to donate money instantly.

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People are often think of themselves and base their actions on what would harbor the best outcomes for them. It is rare in which people would go out of their way to help other even when it won’t harm them to do so. Therefore, it goes to show, based on that pattern, that the

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The wellbeing of other people is important. This theory also states that we should not use people merely as a means to an end. Instead “check that the act will treat other persons as ends in themselves” (O’Neal 412) which would promote giving money to the homeless person. We should try to act in a way that benefits others. At the same time, we cannot fulfill all what others want because “their wants are too numerous and diverse, and of course, sometimes incompatible” (O’Neal 414).

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Should We Help The Homeless? As once written by Andrew Carnegie, “The problem of our age is the proper administration of wealth, so that the ties of brotherhood may still bind together the rich and poor in harmonious relationship” (Carnegie) Homelessness has been around for centuries, just like the debate over Americans helping the homeless or letting them fend for themselves. There are many aspects must which should be considered in the argument of whether we, the American people and higher class, should help them or not; such as the ethical values of the situation from both the poor and those involved in helping, the cultural and social causes, and effects on their lives.

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Although most of my involvement has centered around politics, where I have been an active volunteer in the current election cycle, my service also extends to the homeless community in the Quad Cities. After recognizing the extent of homelessness in Davenport, my friend decided to start a nonprofit 5K to benefit a local shelter and I immediately joined in the venture. By working with the shelter rather than independently, we were able to avoid the faults set forth in To Hell With Good Intentions. Our good intentions have donated over $10,000 to King’s Harvest Ministries, who uses funds in a way that raises the standard of living for the local homeless

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When i'm walking around and see a homeless person I try to give them what little change I have on me, even if that means I won’t

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Rather, Singer’s weaker version is more plausible, that one should take necessary action where we are able to prevent bad states of affairs without sacrificing morally significant (Singer, 1972). It is clear then that moral autonomy to pursue one’s own interests is something that can constitute moral significance. An individual is morally free not to devote themselves full time to prevent famine. It is important to make a distinction between the freedom to pursue one’s own interests and the freedom of wasting resources on excessive luxuries. Singer concedes there is no justification for the purchasing of stylish new clothes as any benefit to this purchase would be sparingly little compares to the benefit it would make for the poor in donating that money (Singer, 1972).

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In one circumstance, we may feel the need to give to those who are poor to keep them from getting in our personal space; and in other circumstances we feel that we give to others out of the kindness of our heart. I completely agree with Ascher and her views on compassion, because I have been in similar situation where I have questioned why people give money, and whether they give with a whole heart or out of necessity. Furthermore, this essay can teach us plenty of lessons that can be utilized throughout our lives so we can teach others and make them aware of the need to be more

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