Post #7

The article I read was “Charity Means You Don’t Pick and Choose” written by Patricia O’Hara and published in the Newsweek. In this article a mom, dad and son pass by a homeless guy and he asked if they could spare anything. The son was five years old and has never encountered a homeless person before. They gave him a dollar and the doggie bag of leftover food from the restaurant and the homeless guy thanked them. At the same moment a group of people walked by and barked out “it’d be better if they got a job.”  The dad did have doubts on what the guy would do with the money but was hoping that he taught his son about the principles of charity that he holds. Most people feel more comfortable fiving anonymously like clothing drives or to a Santa Claus ring a bell to help people in need.  A few years  later the mom and her son were walking in New York City as a thin, drugged out young ,an approached them asking them for money.  They passed by him but the son wondered why they didn’t give to him. The mom says” that they didn’t have time and they can’t give to everyone” and the sons says “yeah I wouldn’t give money to people like that.” This showed her son that it i acceptable to classify people as deserving and undeserving poor.

I have come across homeless people when I have traveled. Everyone has different reasons for being homeless but me personally I like to give anonymously. If I give to a person on the street I would buy them food, not give money because you don’t know where it is going. I think that everyone should earn for themselves not rely on other people to give.

Post #6

The article I read was “Dear Dads: Save Your Sons” by Christopher N. Bacorn and was published by Newsweek on December 6^th, 1992. This article is about 15 year old boy who is in a gang, into alcohol, violence and failing grades due to his father leaving. He became more unmanageable and hurt someone in a fight.  The mother expressed her concerns to Bacorn. She wishes that he had a male role model in his life. The counselor Bacorn tried talking to him but that didn’t work because he thought there was nothing wrong with him.  He also talks about, what has happened to the fathers? Where are they? Bacorn says they aren’t at PTA meetings or holding a sick child in a pediatrician’s office they are at home, golf course, drinking, or fishing. Bacorn talks about how poverty prevention concepts says that if fathers were to spend time with their children it would cause less hunger and fewer pregnancy’s. Bacorn told the mother to try and get him to play sports so he can be around other boys would expose him to teamwork, cooperation and friendly competition. That didn’t work he said “it is for dorks” so the boy told his mom it was time to leave. This left Bacorn with a measure of hopelessness. 

I thought this article was very interesting. I believe that it is very important for a child to have a father in their life. I have seen what it does to families when the father leaves. It leads to alcohol, drugs and violence. The sad part is that fathers leaving family’s happen more than we actual realize. Fathers need to put their kids before themselves, meaning that they need to set time away from their activity’s to spend with their child.