Running head: ‘AMERICA’S SHAME’ 1

‘America’s Shame’

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‘America’s Shame’

America’s Shame by Peter Singer positively criticizes the American educational system

and provides feasible solutions. This article provides various impressions to the reader and this

study is particularly aimed at unraveling six impressions that can be unearthed from the article.

The article will then conduct an explicit analysis on these impressions and determine whether

they are value based or a fact based.

Some of the impressions that I have after reading the article include:

 The elimination or reduction of poverty is a moral problem

 The American education system has failed to equip students with the right skills and

knowledge that will enable them to tackle the increasing rate of poverty around the world

 Poverty is rampant in both the developed and the developing nations

 The greatest factor that have prevented health agencies and other non-governmental

agencies from providing funds to the needy people in our society is the apparent lack of

funds by these agencies

 The commitment by the United States to help poor countries is still minimal and it has

done little to help these nations out of their deprived states

 A large majority of citizens in the United States are ignorant about the role of their

country in helping the poor people around the world.

The first impression is fact based because many nations have only concentrated

on reducing poverty in their own borders as opposed to reducing it around the globe and

this has only led to the increase in poverty and consequently in the number of poor
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people. Nations not working together to solve the issue of poverty has made it difficult

reduce the high number of poverty families and conditions around the globe.

The second impression is nevertheless value based since there is no concrete

proof that can affirm these assumptions (Singer, 2010). In as much as there has been

inadequacy on the subject of poverty and particularly on how to address it in the

American education system, there are numerous studies that have been conducted on the

same and this therefore implies that Singer's argument can be termed as too harsh for the

American education system. In addition, all aspects of our globe should receive equal

treatment in our education and this has practically been the case. His solutions on how to

redesign the current programs of education in the country are however practical and can

go a long way in ensuring that poverty is eradicated in our globe. It is a fact that the

subject of poverty has been limited to specific courses such as International development

and it is paramount to integrate all the other courses in our education system including

sociology, ethics, cultural studies, anthropology, and economics. Political science should

also be restructured so that it can incorporate even those individuals who are living

outside our borders, which may be struggling, with poverty. This should also be

replicated in all the other cases such as engineering; that can devise ways of tackling

poverty, with the medical courses devising ways of reducing the burden of diseases that

are prevalent in poverty-stricken areas.

The third impression, on the other hand, is fact based since there is sufficient

proof that affirms that poverty is rampant in the world, both in the developed and the

developing world. Singer (2010) has particularly used World Bank statistics to affirm the

state of poverty in the United States and the parts of the world. The statistics though show
‘AMERICA’S SHAME’ 4

that poverty is mainly on the developing countries and a small percentage is in the

developed countries which leads to limited opportunities for the involved persons.

The fourth impression is also fact based since it is evident that the greatest

obstacle to the nongovernmental organizations in their quest to help the poor

communities is funds (Singer, 2010). In as much as various organizations such as Unicef

and Oxfam have strived to help these poor communities through health care services and

providing with food and clean water, this has only reduced their suffering marginally but

have not done enough to save the lives of those going through financial constraints. As a

result, more deaths are still being reported from poverty-related diseases. The non-

governmental organizations provide food and clean water which is a good thing for the

affected people but if they were able to aid them in starting business and doing jobs this

would offer a solution to their major poverty issue in the globe (Morgan & Várdy, 2009).

The fifth impression is also value based since as much as the United States is

receiving more than it is getting, there is sufficient proof that it has offered and continues

to offer grants to aid the communities that are suffering from poverty. It is however, a

fact that the United States is not doing enough compared to other industrialized nations

since Singer has backed his assertions with concrete evidence. As the one of the leading

industrialized nation the United states ought to aid in the fight of poverty in countries so

as to enable people to live in a conducive environment.

The sixth impression on the ignorance of the Americans is value based since there

are no facts to assert that the majority of citizens in the United States are ignorant.

Despite Singer providing various statistics on the state of ignorance, these statistics only
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underline a portion of the entire population and therefore do not represent the

assumptions by the entire population. The ignorance is because a small percentage of the

people are affected by poverty conditions as compared to the developing countries where

a high percentage are affected by poverty.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this study affirms that there are indeed some impressions that can

be unraveled from the article ‘America's Shame' by Peter Singer. A majority of these

impressions are fact based since they have been backed up by concrete evidence.

Nonetheless, there are those that are value based, for instance, the notion that the majority

of Americans are ignorant regarding their duty of helping the poor communities around

the world. Therefore, due to the ignorance it has led to the suffering of many people from

the life’s of poverty and made the dreams of millions of people to die.
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References

Singer, P. (2010). America's Shame. Cambridge University Press.

Morgan, J., & Várdy, F. (2009). Diversity in the Workplace. American Economic Review.

Routledge.