It is not an easy task to understand if a person is able to identify his/her own place in society without making some mistakes. Many people continue suffering from poverty, cannot realize true damages of wars, and build up the ideas that cannot be commonly supported. The history is the best example of how wrong or right people can be in regards to their decisions to change their lives. The evaluation of several historical documents is a good opportunity to understand the reasons for people’s decisions and the attempts that are made radically.
The Crime of Poverty is the discussion developed by Henry George concerning the reasons for why not all people can be rich and if it is possible to avoid poverty. His most powerful idea is the identification of poverty as social crime but not as a crime made by an individual (George 217). He explains that people, both rich and poor, should take responsibility for the conditions under which poverty is developed. It is not enough for one person to have a desire to get rid of poverty. It is more important for society to understand the urgency of poverty and take the steps that can change the situation. In spite of the fact that some people can believe in the importance of poverty as a measurement of abilities and duties, George cannot agree with this statement. The ignorance and poverty are the two issues that make people weak. There is no natural reason for people to be poor only and rich only (George 218). Sometimes, it is normal to have just enough for living.
The inability to overcome poverty by not harmful means leads to the necessity to begin wars and promote strikes. Clemens’ Comments on the Moro Massacre is the work that introduces one of the worst aspects of poverty. It is the time when not only men but women and children as well are ready to take arms and defend their rights to live under appropriate conditions. The results of the massacre amazed: the lives of so many people were ended suddenly. The battle provoked by the tribes of Moro against the Americans led by General Leonard Wood and was defined as one of the battles that may cause mixed emotions because among the variety of tears and scared dead faces left after the battle, the Americans saw the glory of their victory over those, who provoked the battle (Clemens 252).
Finally, in case the battles and wars helped to achieve the goals and change the conditions under which people can work and live, it is possible to create the strategies according to which the whole life can be approved. One of the possible improvements is socialism supported by Upton Sinclair. His work, The Jungle is an attempt to prove that socialism is the best option for people to rely on and avoid the challenges of poverty so many people can suffer from and a step that can be taken along with impatience (Sinclair 261). Dr. Schliemann is introduced as a philosophic anarchist, who underlines that individualism is the end of humanity, and people should do something to change the current state of affairs.
In general, all three readings may be defined as three different stages of poverty and what poverty may cause. People cannot realize that they are not able to fight against it individually. It is necessary for all people (society) to realize the negative aspects of poverty and eliminate it by any possible means.
Works Cited
Clemens, Samuel. “Comments on the Moro Massacre.” Voices of a People’s History of the United States. Ed. Howard Zinn and Anthony Arnove. New York: Seven Stories Press, 2009. 248-252. Print.
George, Henry. “The Crime of Poverty.” Voices of a People’s History of the United States. Ed. Howard Zinn and Anthony Arnove. New York: Seven Stories Press, 2009. 216-219 Print.
Sinclair, Upton. “The Jungle.” Voices of a People’s History of the United States. Ed. Howard Zinn and Anthony Arnove. New York: Seven Stories Press, 2009. 261-264. Print.