Homelessness & Morality: A Moral Analysis - Essay Sample

Introduction

Morality is a necessary measure of the community and individual response to different scenarios as determined by the law, cultural beliefs, personal values, and religion. Numerous issues in the national sphere have greatly affected morality, creating a barrier between what is right and wrong. Often, the question of morals is critical in the decision on issues such as sexual activity before marriage, immigration, and homelessness. This essay will conduct a moral analysis on homelessness and immigration in the U.S. using personal autobiographical reflection to assess the morality of the issues. Also, the paper will incorporate religious perspectives in determining morality issues.

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Nature of the Moral Problem

Homelessness and immigration issues in the United States are moral issues based on how Americans and the government have morally approached the subject. Today, homelessness is increasingly becoming a humanitarian crisis due to the nature and volume of the people rendered homeless. However, externalities of the response to homelessness and immigration pressures in the United States continue to hamper the moral approach to the problems (Magana 285). The answer to homelessness and immigration in the United States will continue to be an ethical concern, particularly with the rising conflict of interested mounted by the Church, the Bible, and the U.S. government. It is critical for the people themselves or the community as whole to become involved with the homeless people and immigrants to help address the problem instead of continuous ignorance of political persecution through restrictive policies like in the case of Donald Trump (Du Plessis & Cora-Bramble 1095-1100). However, the primary question lies in how immigrants and the homeless individual should be treated in the United States.

Christian Thought on Homelessness and Immigration

With the different approaches to homelessness and immigration based on moral perceptions, Religions like Christianity provide a fundamental approach to the ethical problem. Christians are called to help those in need, which is an attribute associated with the love of one's neighbor. Mathew 22: 39 and 1 Peter 4: 8 encourages Christians to love others earnestly, which calls for Christians to sympathize with those that are homeless and immigrants by sharing with them what Christians possess (Lim 3-15). Christian ministries should direct their resources towards helping the homeless and the immigrants to be able to settle even as they undergo through persecution by the government agencies. Love for the Christians is a commandment that should be applied to separate Christians from the worldly people who fail to recognize the plight of those that are homeless and the immigrants seeking asylum and better opportunities in the United States.

Prophetic Tradition in Dealing With Homelessness and Immigration

Today, humanity is seeking greater justice dealing with the enormous phenomenon and moral problem of homelessness and immigration. The scenario about morality in immigration and homelessness is often based on the words of Isaiah that recall the prophetic significance of the jubilee as people seek to maintain empathy. In the Christian writings, concerning the prophetic tradition surrounding immigration and homelessness, the bible in the Old Testament makes a description of life in a foreign place with theological reflection on how the situations are created (Lim 3-15). In the tradition as quoted in different religious books, there were various reasons as to why people migrated, as some were in the plight for food, shelters, while others were forcibly chased after Judah and Israel were defeated. Further, in the prophetic tradition, welcoming a stranger has been the central theme of biblical hospitality. For instance, inclusive hospitality delivers that no one should be excluded. The hospitality is seen in (Genesis 4:8-16) about the story biblical story when Cain murders Abel. God makes Cain a wanderer but puts a mark on him to protect him so that no one will kill him.

Today, with the prophetic imperative morals, few migrants lack protection. Often, such as in the United States, as stated in the article about Donald Trump, most of the migrants are arrested or deported (Schaab 182). Prophet Ezekiel and Isaiah are seen as immigrants in exile in the Christian religion. In consideration of the best-known migration story in Christianity, the story of the Exodus provides a meaningful discourse. In Deuteronomy 10:19, it offers that one should love the stranger since they were strangers in Egypt while Leviticus 27:19 provides that anyone withholding justice from foreigners would be cursed. The prophetic tradition deals with homelessness and immigration as they offer the importance of empathy and morals when dealing with the problem.

Moral Growth With the Topic

Since the issue of immigration and homelessness span through individual morals, I have had significant moral growth with the topic. With a focus on the emergence, change, and understanding of morals, my experiences have specially shaped my moral development. For example, when I found out that I was pregnant, I had to make the hardest choice based on morality to avoid doing wrong while trying to do right. Learning from my experiences, I have also had a significant moral growth comparing the immediate actions taken by the United States government in countering immigration and homelessness and the prophetic tradition on the moral issue under the Church and the Bible. However, as good people with the right morals, it would only be right if we helped homeless individuals and immigrants and treated them as resources for development by taking care of them and loving them rather than as development obstacles. These influences have significantly impacted my views on morality by ensuring moral ambiguity, theological humility, and unconditional love.

Works Cited

DuPlessis, H. M., and D. Cora-Bramble. "Providing care for immigrant, homeless, and migrant children." Pediatrics 115.4 (2005): 1095-1100.

Lim, Bo H. "Exile and migration: Toward a Biblical theology of immigration and displacement." The Covenant Quarterly 74.2 (2016): 3-15.

Magana, Lisa. "Policy Actors and the Immigration Policy Process." Immigration and the Border: Politics and Policy in the New Latino Century. University of Notre Dame, 2012. 285-298.

Schaab, Gloria. "Which of These Was Neighbor?: Spiritual Dimensions of the U.S. Immigration Question." International Journal of Public Theology 2.2 (2008): 182-202.