Sidney Faine
Professor Crumit-Hancock
Rogerian Argument Essay
5/2/2017
Poverty
in Communities
A
common characteristic in communities all over the globe is poverty. The average percentage of communities in
financial need is 80% (Leiner, 2014); that’s well over 3 billion people who
seek help. Due to the lack of finances, the citizens in these communities suffer
from aggression, depression, anxiety, dropping out of school, and coming into
contact with crime. (Leiner, 2014). There have been many debates as to whether
these communities deserve help from others or not, and after looking through
numerous articles it is clear that many people have been attempting to provide
help. However the real question is, what is the correct approach to help these communities
in need? By reading Community
Anti-Poverty Strategies: A Conceptual Framework for a Critical Discussion, The
Jewish Quarterly Review, and The
Emotional and Behavioral Problems of Children Exposed to Poverty, many
solutions have been mentioned such as economic help, charity organizations, and
other various types of donors. However, the Community
Anti-Poverty Strategies: A Conceptual Framework for a Critical Discussion is
the only article that provides strong options to help improve these
communities.
Although
many people around the world are trying to find solutions to help those in
economic need, there are many people that think those in poverty should fend
for themselves. Not only did those in poverty “dig their own grave” per say, but
they also made it difficult for their children and grandchildren to dig
themselves out of the poverty hole as well. Basically, half of the population
wants to help those in need, while the other half thinks they should provide
for themselves, and if they cannot afford certain things, than that is due to
their own actions and decisions. For example, global poverty strategies were
considered, but after a long debate, concerns were shown towards a large
demographic change on the “scope and nature of global poverty.” (Strier, 2008).
Although not all may agree, this is a very accurate statement. When the world
undergoes a drastic change, chaos is bound to happen. Therefore, if it was
decided to completely end world poverty, problems and possibly even riots would
break out. Community Anti- Poverty
Strategies: A Conceptual Framework for a Critical Discussion also discusses
national, regional, and community level changes as well as the global change
mentioned above. However, it was also discussed that if anyone were to make a
large change towards poverty in the national or regional level, it would not
work properly. This being said, a community-level change is the only proper
solution according to this article. The author, Roni Strier, states that
poverty strategies at the community level are, “linked to the political nature
of poverty research,” and are to some degree, “research funding agencies.”
(Strier, 2008).
Although
there is a lot of controversy on whether or not to help the communities
suffering from poverty, I think that the answer is pretty clear. Although a
global change can drastically harm the world, I think that if communities were
to start out slowly, and work within their own city limits to improve
themselves, poverty could surely cease. Obviously, it will not end all at once,
it will take time and lots of help and donations. However, over time I truly
believe that the world could end poverty by helping one another out. This plan
is beneficial to all communities that decide to join, because in the long run
it will improve the lives of everyone involved. Not only is this plan
beneficial, but it is valid as well. Communities could construct a donation
fund to those in need, while also providing efforts to help their fellow
citizen.
There
are many similarities and benefits that come along with each argument discussed
above. For example, both arguments discuss helping communities, whether it be
on a larger scale or a smaller scale. Both arguments also discuss the benefits
of supporting those in need with donations that are not needed by the more
fortunate. However, the argument I
suggested also benefits the surrounding communities and makes the world a
better place altogether. Therefore, those that are not in poverty should slowly
move towards making the less-fortunate communities a better place to live.
Annotated
Bibliography
Leiner, Marie “The
Emotional and Behavioral Problems of Children Exposed to Poverty.” Salud
Mental.
April 3, 2014. Print.
This article focuses on the relationship between poverty
and the affect it has on children in a community. The author, Marie Leiner,
studies a sample of children living in numerous cities in Mexico that face
poverty compared to children living in more stable cities, such as El Paso,
Texas. The rest of the article explains the type of study she used to measure
the emotional problems these children face, while also giving a conclusion as
to what her study found.
Shoshan, Boaz. “Poverty
and Charity is the Jewish Community of Medieval Egypt.” University
of Pennsylvania Press.
July 17, 2008. Print.
In this article, Shoshan discusses the poverty that
Jewish communities have faced throughout the years. However, Shoshan focuses
more on how poverty makes their community healthier by bringing all the people
together to provide charity to those who are less fortunate. Therefore, unlike
the article used beforehand, this article provides an argument as to how
poverty helps the community.
Strier, Roni. “Community
Anti-Poverty Strategies: A Conceptual Framework for a Critical
Discussion.” Oxford
University Press. 2009. Print.
This article discusses how communities are a reoccurring
theme when it comes to poverty in an area. However, Strier also discusses how
this relationship has not been adequately proven. Therefore, this article helps
prove both sides of the argument correct by proving that neither side has an
adequate amount of information.
