23. Are the Homeless Crazy?

      Jonathan Kozol discusses the main cause for homelessness in the United States in the article "Are the Homeless Crazy?". He presents statistics to show what the reality and the conditions are for those who do not have homes. For instance, he states that "since 1968 the number of children living in poverty has grown by 3 million" and that the federal support for housing has dropped from $30 billion (1980) to 7.5 billion (1988)". Basically the primary reason for homelessness in the United States is the economy. His thesis is pretty clear: "While conceding that a certain number of the homeless are or have been mentally unwell, they believe that, in the case of most unsheltered people, the primary reason is economic rather than clinical." Later on, Kozol addresses political and social causes for kicking people out of their homes. According to Kozol, we label the homeless as mentally ill individuals so we feel comfortable; so we do not feel responsible for their suffering. By labeling the homeless, we feel like we cannot do anything for them; that we do not have any intimate connection with them or their problems. The author uses the President as an example. He usually hides the harsh reality of poverty by saying "Now you’re hearing all kinds of horror stories”. The author also appeals to everyone to recognize homelessness as social federal stain and that those who are more fortunate are capable of helping.
    This essay is very effective. Kozol's purpose is to persuade and to inform (make the audience aware) the audience of what is really going on in society. Kozol's tone is serious and criticizing. He criticizes the medical institutions, the government, and the people (us), and subtly calls out for us to do something about it. By providing disturbing statistics about the economic situation (homeless children and unemployment), he is able to captivate and shock the audience. He makes the reader feel guilty (I know I did). I really like the author's vocabulary because it is appropriate to the tone of the article. There are some big words but the essay is clear and objective; it is easy to understand. What I like the most is how he addresses the issues of the economy and how he supports his thesis so well, not only with statistic but interesting real life scenarios. It is embarrassing to see our society the way it is. Maybe things have changed since Kozol wrote this article, but poverty is still an impending issue that the government seems to overlook (or ignore). I believe Kozol was very effective in moving the reader and keeping the reader interested.
 http://faculty.law.ubc.ca/myoung/poverty/Are%20the%20Homeless%20Crazy.pdf