University Seminar 101

Mayor Rick Baker, of Saint Peters burg said, “We have an obligation as a community, and it’s a moral obligation, to help folks who need help, who are willing to help themselves…unless I have a place to put them, they (the homeless) feel safe at city hall at night, I’m not going to force them out” (justathought’s). As citizens we have an obligation like he said, but what about them? They have more obligation to the homeless and the rest of us than we do. The government puts more weight on us to do something about the problems they don’t want to deal with.
The aspects they don’t tell us about include how many homeless people are beaten while they try to sleep in these places Rick Baker talks about. They aren’t as safe as he thinks they are some people out there think that it’s entertaining and socially acceptable to hurt those who are weaker than them, they walk up on a bum in the middle of the night or when they are sure no one is watching and beat them. Politicians don’t do the homeless any favors, the people who killed them or left them in an alley way to die, in some cases are caught and go to jail but for how long, a couple weeks, some are still walking around looking for more to take advantage of.
It’s not always the homeless’ fault they are in the situations they are. Some are what is classified as chronically homeless, these people are as American as we are but they have either a mental illness that disables their ability to take care of themselves, or they are victims of bad economy, and in turn lost everything they have. In situations where there is no control over what’s going on they do deserve help, everyone deserves help sometimes, but you can’t help anyone if they don’t want to be helped.
Military persons too have problems with homelessness because of the experiences they had at war, Ruben, a Vietnam Veteran wrote in his letter/blog to president Obama, “I joined the marines to fight for my country in the sixties so that all Americans could have a better life, not just rich and well to do’s who are receiving all of these bail outs today” (Baker, Ruben). He also addresses the fact that Obama wants to build the economy from the bottom up, Ruben thinks Obama should first make a commitment to end involuntary homelessness in our country. He’s right, no one should be on the streets and ignored because they are retarded or because they can’t act with society the way they did before war. In war a soldier loses themselves, resorting to change to adapt and survive, doing things they may have never wanted to do and now have a lot of regret and mental anguish because of continuous replay in their minds.

At this time in America with the Iraqi war still going on, and with the economy taking one of its largest falls in history, this is no time to be extra lienient with the money that we do have by “giving” it to the homeless. The government should make a strict set of guidelines and restrictions for which the homeless receive benefits. They could start with a no alcoholism/drug abuse rule, in which the homeless were only eligible if they stopped drinking or using drugs, because that is a most likely reason as to how they got there in the first place. Second they could make behavior a major part of it. They could require that the person receiving the benefits was not trashing what was given to them, and if they mess up they are out. Another major point would be to stop helping any alcoholics, who are passed out on the street, with medical care. It was stated by writer Malcolm Gladwell that in one instance an individual had been taken to the hospital for alcohol abuse nearly ninety times in just over a year (Gladwell 4). This is just unacceptable, if a homeless person is not going to learn to lay off the drugs and alcohol after the first ten times of being hospitalized there is absolutely no reason why the government, and in turn the taxpayers of the U.S. should be helping that person. It shows a complete lack of responsibility, and a complete disregard for caring about their situation.
This is an aspect of the homelessness situation that Malcolm doesn’t spend too much time on in his essay, other than to say that its happening, but he should put more of an objection to it in his essay. It’s almost as if he supports the situation which is just mind blowing, and ridiculous. There are hundreds of thousands of college students in the U.S. who would be more than happy to receive some benefits, which granted some and many do, but not to the amount of 29 billion dollars a year and they are actually trying to get somewhere and make a name for themselves. There are also hundreds of thousands of less fortunate families out there, living in poverty, who could use a little extra money. Or for instance cancer patients who can’t afford treatment. There are any numbers of people who are much more deserving of the government aid.

@keaton.corbitt
The Iraqi war is our biggest down fall right now,with most of the money being spent on the war.If we spent as much time and money on the need of our own people may be our economy would take a turn for the better,and would find a solution for the homeless problem.There are the ones that do abuse the system but is not the case for all homeless people,{National Alliance}the old,mental ill,domestic violence victims must choose between losing their homes or their lives,thirteen percent of these people and one hundred thousand veterans coming home have nowhere to return home to,living in the streets or shelters.Homeless people must be helped,but the homeless assistance system can neither prevent people from becoming homeless nor change the availability of housing or income and services that will truly end homelessness.There are programs such as welfare,health care,mental,substance abuse treatments and veteran’s assistance.But the homeless assistance system is a dysfunctional situation and becoming more and more institutionalized.A person will sink to the bottom sometimes slow sometimes quicker than others and feel trapped,lost and alone with no where to turn.With out some kind of help it is almost impossible to swim back to top without drowning.I believe there is not a price or number that can be put on human life.People do have choices but don’t or are incapable of always making the right ones all of the time.There is opportunity if one can obtain the tools to find all of the resources government and states has to offer.

I think that you all have made important insights into the issues of homelessness. As a student of critical thinking I think that your observations are thoughtful and your analysis of the reading is inspiring.

Everything was better when Mr. Ayers’ schizophrenia was absent. When his schizophrenia did kick in, he could get very aggressive and violent. It was a couple weeks before they were to attend the concert at Disney hall when Mr. Ayers read the columns that his friend the columnist had been writing about him. Before that, Mr. Ayers did not care about what was being written. After he read them, he became enraged. When Mr. Lopez went to see him, Mr. Ayers’ schizophrenia kicked in. The “voices” he heard were all part of his mental illness. He did not want to be violent. He did not want to hurt anyone. And here he was hurting his only friend with mean words and violence. His mental illness had taken over. And he was losing a dear friend.
Mr. Nathaniel Ayers’ was mentally ill and there was no way to deny the fact. He did not choose to be this way but who would. He would “hear voices that others did not, believe that others were broadcasting their thoughts to the world, or he would become convinced that others were plotting to harm him” (”Schizophrenia”). The illness was ruining a friendship that could last a lifetime.

Ayers had many outstanding opportunities with his musical talent as he grew up. He perfected his music throughout his schooling as a boy, which paved his way into Juilliard. During his third year, he suffered from the months of confusion, anxiety, and hallucinations. One night he just began shedding his clothes for no apparent reason. The classmate and his fiancée couldn’t get him to stop. Once he was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, he was pulled out of school and into treatment, which at the time, seemed to end his life. He went through different medications, counselors, and also shock therapy (Lopez). The result of all of this was that he ended up living on the streets of Los Angeles. He didn’t give up on his music, though. He played his cello until he got a beaten and battered two stringed violin and transposed his cello music the best he could to play it on his violin. Even when he is playing, sometimes when he sees someone smoking, his rage takes over and he yells at the pedestrian telling him that he can’t smoke. But once he starts playing his beautiful music, his anger subsides. Ayers’ dedication to his music is his top priority because his music is what relaxes him and keeps his sanity.
A study was conducted by Heart and Lung: Journal of Acute and Critical Care on the effectiveness of a music therapy intervention on relaxation and anxiety for a patient receiving ventilatory assistance. The results of the test on the random patients that received the therapy showed that all the patients had reported lower anxiety levels and heart rate (Chlan). This study is one of the many examples of the power that music has by just simply listening to it. Its soothing sounds and melodies calm nerves and relax the mind and body. This also ties back to Ayers and the fact that his symptoms of anger are calmed by the music that he plays.

Homelessness, there is no question that the homelessness issue has been an increasing problem over the past 25 years and only seeming to be getting worse. But why are there homeless people and where is it coming from. In The Soloist, Steve Lopez gets a first hand look at the causes of homelessness and what is being done to help it. In this book Nathaniel Ayers is a homeless person who is a musician with a mental disease, and one of many of the stories of the homeless population. This book has a great story behind it as well as a look at the homeless issue that is in California and all around the nation.

The Soloist is just one story of thousands where the homeless issue is not as strait forward as people think it is. The homeless issue does not come from freeloading drunks, even though there are plenty of them, the issue is much deeper than the eye can see. When you got cases like Nathaniel’s when this man does not want to leave living on the streets because his mental illness doesn’t let him see that where he is living is dangerous, dirty and not the place for a delightful, talented man. In this case Nathaniel chose to be homeless, and it seems that this is the case for a lot of the homeless people.

@shannon.naki shannon, do you think that perhaps Mr. Ayers does not want to be “normal”? Do you think that maybe he is happier the way he is than when he was free of mental illness? Consider the fact that the stress of “normal” life is what may have caused his mental illness to surface. Do you really think that his outburst would have ruined his friendship with Mr.Lopez? Consider that Mr.Lopez realizes Mr.Ayers’ illness. Look back at the reading, Mr. Lopez says that he did not take the attack personally. Therefore do you really think that it would have ruined their friendship?

Lopez tells the story in a way that incites so many emotions in the reader. The reason for this is not only to write a good story but also to convey these feelings to the reader so that the story of Nathaniel and Lopez can inspire hope into those that might have lost it. As talk of an economic recession continue and the homelessness and unemployed situation is only becoming more of a problem and many Americans are not very optimistic about the future and what it holds for them. The Soloist is an incredible tale of hope and perseverance. Steve Lopez’s dedication to his friend, who to some might have seemed like a lost cause, shows people who read The Soloist that there is still hope and plenty of good in the world. That a man with a full time job and a family can completely turn the life around of a homeless schizophrenic is meant to inspire. It could even be called the American dream.
The friendship in The Soloist was entirely up to Lopez to maintain. “ I can’t believe you would still want to be my friend after that” (264). Nathaniel says this to Lopez two days after he had gone into a fit of rage and threatened Lopez’s life. As upset as Steve was after the outburst, he keeps faith in him and says its not a problem and that he did not take it seriously. Of course he took it seriously however Lopez is aware that Nathaniel has almost no ability to control his rage and just lets the entire incident go. At every set back, Lopez remains committed to Nathaniel. This is the kind of friendship that everyone should strive for in their relationships. If the novel can inspire just one of the qualities Steve displays in half of the people who read it, then its purpose has at least somewhat been fulfilled. Steve’s unfailing dedication to his friend is truly inspirational and sets a high standard for any kind of relationship. Although the theme of The Soloist focuses on Steve and Nathaniel’s friendship, the purpose of the novel is to inspire hope and to show the people who read it that if Steve can help his friend so much and receive so much from it, then the simplest acts of kindness are possible for anyone to do.