Should We Have Compassion For A Community Callus?

Brenda Clark

Professor Monique Williams

English 1A

Section:  014

17 October 2013

                                                Should We Have Compassion For a Community Callus?

              We all have a place for compassion in our hearts whether we demonstrate compassion on a regular basis or not. Those of us that are struggling in life have compassion, and those of us that are doing well in life are able to have compassion for those that are struggling, although we do not always admit that we have this compassionate side. Tattoos on the Heart points out that “Al Sharpton always says, “We’re all created equal, but we don’t all end up equal.”” (Boyle 77). If we are all created equal then we all have compassion, and need to demonstrate compassion for a community callus, as we are all a part of at least one community. Our reputation belongs to that of the community to which we belong. If the community is viewed positively, we as a part of the community are viewed as good people. On the other hand, if the community is viewed negatively, we are more than likely going to be viewed negatively also if we are a part of the community, even if we are not contributing to the negativity. Being compassionate in this respect allows us to do our best to help those that are struggling in order to improve the outlook of the community to which we belong.

     People have been compassionate for as long as we have known, since the reign of God. This implies that compassion is a natural born instinct. As stated in Tattoos on the Heart, “Certainly compassion was the wallpaper of Jesus’ soul, the contour of his heart, it was who he
was” (Boyle 62). Jesus is known for being non-judgmental and for the forgiveness of sins. This means that he does not judge people for who they are, whether they are gang members or successful human beings. The circumstances through which one has become a gang member are often likely to be out of the control of the individual. Children who grow up without parental support, have parents involved in gangs, and/or live in communities saturated with gang activity have a higher likelihood of becoming gang members themselves. Once people are involved in gangs and become victims of the prison system, it becomes difficult if not impossible for them to lead productive lives, because this becomes part of their record that travels with them through their adulthood. This record does not disappear even if people turn themselves around for the better and remove themselves from the gangs and become positively involved in their communities. We need to have more compassion for people that have the willpower to realize that they have a problem and improve upon their behavior and their outlook on life. Most of us have been through a struggle in our lives, because as we all know nobody is perfect. I am sure that if we put ourselves in the shoes of the people that are struggling, we would hope that there would be compassionate people in our communities to help and support us through our own struggle.