by Richard A. Cheatham, Press Media Group, LLC

I heard on National Public Radio the other day about a charitable trust working to find and fight the causes of homelessness, http://melvilletrust.org, hoping to eliminate it. That sounds great, right?

I certainly wouldn’t want to be homeless and hope I never will be. It might be of some value, however, to consider the motivations and personal values of some of the people who’re homeless, or who may be one day. I’m willing to except the fact that not everyone is exactly like me, thank goodness.

Could homelessness be a choice (as balanced against other choices) for some people? Could it possibly be the lesser of evils for some people? Could it represent a freedom not possible in any other way for some?

Must everyone have a mortgage or a lease? Must everyone have debts and credit cards? Must everyone have a full time job? Must everyone have a boss and do the bidding of other people? Must they look, dress and act the same way? Must they be willing to accept charity?

I maintain that as long as a person doesn’t harm other people, he or she should live as he or she chooses. If “keeping up with the Joneses” is not your cup of tea, so be it. Make your choices and take the consequences. This thing called life, it’s all a series of gambles.

There are many things I do without because I choose not to conform to certain common societal expectations. There’s income I’m willing to do without because I’m not willing to do certain things. I’m just not willing to subordinate in certain ways. My intellectual independence means far more to me than having the money I could have by subordinating that independence. It’s a trade off and I’ve gotten the better part of the deal, by far! Is it possible there are others who feel this way, even to the point of homelessness?

Doing without can represent a kind of “freedom,” even pride for some people. Many of us are encumbered with lots of expectations and some simply refuse to be encumbered. Their own personal freedom is their highest goal, not cash, not status and not things.

Don’t be too quick to “look down upon” and feel sorry for all homeless people, imagining that all of them would prefer to have what you have, if only they could. They might well be looking at you and thinking, “Boy, I’m sure glad I’m not that poor slob. At least, I’m free!”

Giving people choices is great! Manipulating them and/or trying to make them conform to your values is not .

Be cautious when you look for the causes of homelessness. Be even more cautious of employing reckless governmental means to end it. You may just be “ending” someone’s freedom to live as he prefers and taking from him the thing he values most.

©2005 by Richard A. Cheatham. All rights reserved. Mr.Cheatham is a professional speaker/writer and is syndicated through Press Media Group, LLC. Contact him through, Living History Assoc., Ltd., at www.LHALtd.com or DrawBackVeil@aol.com.