The Obligation By Julia Castillo

Insuring the Prosperity of Our Nation: In the Home and with our Youth “If we are to reach real peace in this world… we shall have to begin with children” (Mahatma Gandhi). Mahatma Gandhi and Julia Castillo, both argue that in order for real change to happen we must start to instill good values and morals into the younger generation. Castillo, author of “The Obligation”, states that it is our obligation to reach out to those in need to have a better future for all. She believes that everyone has a moral obligation to help someone else, more specifically to give guidance and moral support to those in need. Castillo tells the story of two young men, who grew up in very different households, in which one lands a successful career and the other
As he follows different families around Milwaukee, he finds that a broken home leads to many problems. Desmond has devoted the greater part of his life now to urge the US Government to create a new “Affordable Housing Program”, a program that will hopefully help drastically turn this country around. The individual named Scott is a great character. He was in and out of homeless shelters, on heroin during these years, until he met Terry. The two rented a trailer together in an attempt to get off of the streets and out of the numerous shelters. However, Scott was still on heroin and was not able to keep a steady job nor much income. Scott and his roommate, Terry, received an eviction notice because they were unable to pay their rent for two months. Scott, being the much more able body person, asked around and was able to land a job through a mutual friend. Mira, his boss, employed Scott. He cleaned out apartments of families who were evicted. After a few weeks of work, Terry left, leaving Scott with a moment of realization. He “rushed to check if the plastic container was in his room – the one stuffed with photographs, diplomas, and memories, hard evidence that he has once been someone else – was still there” (Desmond 93). This was Scotts first realization that he could be something better than just a heroin addict, barely scraping
The two pieces of writing go hand in hand, completing each other through research about many families who have had different lives as a result of supportive or non-supportive homes. People do have a moral obligation to help those in need, in fact, it is patriotic and American to help those in need. A quote from Desmond’s epilogue perfectly states this point, “It is only after we begin to see a street as out street, a public park as our park, a school as our school, that we can become engaged citizens, dedication our time and resources for worthwhile causes: joining the neighborhood watch, volunteering to beautify a playground, or running for a school board” (294). It does not take much to help those in need, once in one’s community all it takes is a brief conversation in order to spark a lifelong friendship or to convince someone to start to do the right