Yes, people still try to convince me of these things despite the following minor issues:
1. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion” -U.S. Constitution Amendment 1
2. Free elections, roads, primary schools, parks, defense/homeland security, fire and police departments are paid for by taxes. (Notice how I didn’t even mention “frivolous” spending like Medicaid, environmental protection, college loans, unemployment benefits and public housing)
and
3. Unless you are a Native American, you and/or your family once immigrated to this country as some point.
Many times I simply hit delete and move on with my life. Other times I write back.
A recent email of this nature inspired me to respond.
Here is the email….
I recently asked my friends' little girl what she wanted to be when she grows up. She said she wanted to be President some day. Both of her parents, liberal Democrats, were standing there, so I asked her, 'If you were President what would be the first thing you would do?
> She replied, 'I'd give food and houses to all the homeless people.' Her parents beamed.
'Wow...what a worthy goal.' I told her, 'But you don't have to wait until you're President to do that. You can come over to my house and mow the lawn, pull weeds, and sweep my yard, and I'll pay you $50. Then I'll take you over to the grocery store where the homeless guy hangs out, and you can give him the $50 to use toward food and a new house.
> She thought that over for a few seconds, then she looked me straight in the eye and asked, ' Why doesn't the homeless guy come over and do the work, and you can just pay him the $50?
> I said, 'Welcome to the Republican Party.' Her parents still aren't speaking to me.
Even putting politics aside, there are several problems with this story. First of all, is the narrator going to actually offer work to the homeless guy at the grocery story? If that is true, then maybe I could buy into his apathetic logic. However, I don’t believe that is the case, which creates a big fat hole in the middle of his argument.
In addition, this example simplifies a terrible problem that reflects poorly on us as a society. It makes an incorrect assumption that those who live in cars, parks and on sidewalks are merely lazy. As usual, the truth is much more complicated.
The notion that homeless individuals just don’t want to work is ignorant. Many people living in shelters have jobs. “In 2007, a survey performed by the U.S. Conference of Mayors found that 17.4% of homeless adults in families were employed while 13% of homeless single adults or unaccompanied youth were employed.” –National Coalition for the Homeless
If you dig deeper into the issue you will find the causes of short and long term homelessness are vast. The following are some of those reasons:
Falling victim to natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina
Mental illness and physical disabilities
Dysfunctional family life that leads to abandoned youth and runaways
Lack of public assistance combined with job loss, medical expenses and rising food costs
Decline in wages and job opportunities
Lack of affordable housing
Domestic Violence (Approximately half of women and children experiencing homelessness left homes due to domestic violence. -National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 2001)
One of the most shocking things to me was that this email was sent by someone who has served in the military. According to the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, “About one-third of the adult homeless population have served their country in the Armed Services.” Many have post traumatic stress disorder and/or substance abuse problems and nearly all of them come from disadvantaged backgrounds.
ANY of us could face unfortunate circumstances. Hopefully, we have family and friends to help us out, but not everyone is that lucky. Judging people and simplifying this matter only contributes to the problem. Let’s teach the next generation to have compassion rather than contempt.
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