SOCIO200-D01_The Interpretation of Homelessness: A Socioeconomic Issue? Or A Cry to Live Freely?

The Interpretation of Homelessness: A Socioeconomic Issue? Or A Cry to Live Freely?

As I begin to meditate on the socioeconomic classes of our economy, I have observed experimentally on many occasions that some folks of society are where they are not just simply because they are socially or economically “uneducated,” or “poor,” or even because they may lack the resources. I believe on many occasions this “social problem” is simply that a social problem. Perhaps, those of us who live about our social life have an independence problem. These people we socially identify as maybe “homeless” or “lower-class” is done so by how we measure socioeconomic structure. But there can and sometimes is always deeper reason much of the time.

Since the rise and boom of American industrialization (Library of Congress, n.d.), the digital age (Hilbert, 2020), and now the strange, uninvited company from AI assisted technologies, we forget the value from things of the past as we seek to progress ever too quickly that it makes our heads spin. We certainly wouldn’t be here without the former things of old. These so-called “lowly” people perhaps aren’t struggling to catch up with our modern-day societal norm, but rather, in some cases, just maybe the modern-day society we are conditioned to believe that is so “great” lacks the understanding for some people’s choice not to conform to a modern-day socioeconomic structure or class. In shorter terms, one could consider this as a non-conformist way of thinking or living. And even so— a cry for some escape back to simpler times of independence.

My expression for this observation can also be based upon the matter of a personal and spiritual choice for conducting one’s way of life. So, why not use Jesus as the greatest example there ever was for such a likely topic? What we are doing to our own people is what the people of biblical days did to Jesus and how they viewed Him and treated Him as an outcast. They misinterpreted Him. They mistook Him. They misunderstood Him.

“To be great is to be misunderstood”  (Emerson, 1993)

is a popular quote by the great Ralph Waldo Emerson who in his most notable piece of work has discussed the regressive mindset or one of a more solitary living that can be seen presented in his essay of Self-Reliance (24). I have engrafted as a tattoo on my left arm this quote by Emerson in reverence to these great men whom of which may have been perceived as crazy or outcasts by their society based upon these mass governed common collective ideologies— they were misunderstood. In his most notorious essay of Self-Reliance, Emerson references those great historical figures we all may come to recognize while elucidating how being misunderstood isn't always such a bad thing. Therein he states,

“Ah, so you shall be sure to be misunderstood. Is it so bad, then, to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood" (24).

Jesus was undoubtedly mistaken among many occasions. One example was when our Savior was misunderstood by his own friends and family, mistaking His ministry with losing His mind (The Scofield Study Bible, Mark 3. 20-21).

"And the multitude cometh together again, so that they could not so much eat as bread. And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself" (The Scofield Study Bible, Mark 3. 20-21).

Of course, not so much is it to that extreme whereby how Jesus was conclusively treated, but the concept lays there within by better understanding the interactions that took place between our Savior among a society that opposed or conflicted with His which surely still can be seen today in our modern progressive world.

As you begin to read over what I have already discussed, these social issues would closely fit the verdict for correlating the topic of homelessness with the sociological and theoretical approach of conflict theory. This strategic suggestion is a perspective that society consists of different groups of people competing and struggling with each other for scarce resources like food, domestic products, technology, information access, money, and power as defined by James S. Knox in his textbook Sociology Is Rude!: A Conversation on Sociological Theory and Thought (3). However, as I have mentioned before, these social issues only present themselves as such to greater extents because we live in a heavily socialistic world. It is difficult to see it any other way through our modern progressive lens. This sedates us from other deeper meaningful reasons beyond the surface for what information is commonly and conventionally produced and distributed to us in the world of socioeconomics. 

Nowadays, we heavily base people by identifying them as a number or stereotype or statistic when really some of these people could care less about high class social governing structure. I have met a lot of so-called “homeless people” that appear to be much wiser, talented, and internally adroit than many people I have communicated with among the social working class. And certainly these “homeless people” can demonstrate a greater appearance for being rational and internally inclined with themselves when compared to many of those who have an obnoxious habit of revealing their ignorance all over social media.

As much as it is a choice for us to incorporate our lives among a powerful socioeconomic nation, it is much of a choice not to conform to what we do not desire to associate our lives with. This is where the government, and even sub-groups or factions of other functional parts of idealistic movements, start to get involved, becomes “rubbed the wrong way,” starts being unethically invasive, and disturbs the peace of its own citizens given that someone may want an opportunity at a more solitary and less socially consuming lifestyle. Thus, an inarticulate government can be seen, some of the times, reacting to this conflict that itself pursues with a spirit for absolute control. Though, if you wish to participate in society you must go by their rules. However, in all circumstances, the more rules or regulations or limitations you put on something, sure enough you begin to see that now there is more room for error at play. However, the same can be said for possessing too much freedom and it is necessary for establishing some rules that can be followed. Once again, I am not implying one should carry themselves so individualistically careless and reckless among a society, but you can be “homeless” and conduct yourself with a sophisticated sense of dignity and respect.

So, sometimes it is more than seeing someone than just a number or a statistic, but rather it is a God-given choice to live your life the way you choose— more social or more independent. However, to think and act in such a self-reliant way the government does not like much of the time. Am I saying more people should go live their lives as a rebellious fool— of course not.  I, myself, have even been “homeless” and some parts of it really wasn’t all that bad. I have even been admitted to a psych ward amongst other military men and women. This mental institution was actually very interesting and peaceful. It didn’t have as many people as you would in a city, or a town, or a state. And everyone, strangely, got along regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender, etc. for the most part.

We were all in some way or form mistreated by our own government and designated as a “problem” and for some of us, for respectfully and professionally expressing our freedom of speech. Large high-ranking bodies of military government do not take well to questioning their abilities and exploiting the corruption in the process. We tend to view these people as having problems, and yes, some do, but much of the time it is seen more so as a socioeconomic issue but, sadly, we cannot dumb ourselves down or incline ourselves to understand that perhaps some people have a more independent way of thinking and not thinking so commonly among the collective majority such as society chases.

I would like to reference a quote that I have long kept on me from what I believe can represent and better put into perspective based on the information I have just given. North Korean Escapee, Yeonmi Park, has observed from her independence being withheld by powerful governing forces that allow her to break away from not just the physical entrapment of her communist society but the mental conditioning that held her captive.

“If you have never practiced critical thinking, then you simply see what you are told to see” (Park).

If all is good in your world, you are doing simply what you are told, and things seem great even amongst some subtle struggles, you are going to be convinced that what you are participating in is conceivably “okay” or just the “norm.” However, once you are put in a position of doubt, then is it when you can begin to create the illumination for critical thinking amongst a group or society.

When I saw myself as “homeless” or in this mental facility, I had fewer social obligations. I wasn’t pressured by money, or at least, until I decided to choose to associate myself with the social-economic structure of our nation once again. I could think so much clearer in my own headspace away from the turmoil of modern-day society. It was actually pretty peaceful. Many of these people we identify with as low-class or homeless may, yes, very well be that, at least to our socioeconomic understanding of it. We very much forget how the way we live on a daily basis is conditioned by powerful governing socially engineered legislation that has indeed affected our way of thinking; and this includes the over-powering nature of social media. It affects us internally and strips us of our godly inherited abilities to think independently or even thinking in a godly sense such as our Creator did— independent while exacting His work.

The social issue of homelessness will always remain in abundance as long as society continues to fulfill its efforts by dominating its citizens. By no means am I implying that, for instance, our democratic government in America hasn’t done substantial and evidential work with regulating socioeconomic factors. Rather it is the distinction for how one wishes to live and grow in their own way of living whether that be among a collective of governmental bodies or not. So, it certainly isn’t uncommon to see the Church and other charitable organizations providing support and an outlet for these people without homes in society or by some circumstance they see themselves in a place of rehabilitation. There are many groups like the Salvation Army, Parish Houses, the government funded HUD, and HUD-VASH that provides support services for American veterans experiencing homelessness (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development & U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, n.d.).

Author of There is No Place for US: Working and Homeless in America, Brian Goldfield puts into simple perspective where we can see a government and those in higher power adjusting and domineering the framework for opportunities, or lack thereof, that seemingly can strip its own citizens of their homes, jobs, and resources. “

What we’re seeing today is an emergency born less of poverty than prosperity. Families are not ‘falling’ into homelessness. They’re being pushed” (Goldfield, 2023).

Some don’t even get the choice in matter of socioeconomic change when one too many governing officials cannot simply manage a society, but it invests in its own self-indulged agendas with the likes of its own interests.

In many cases, it is necessary to work among a group or body of people for production, but many shine through their work and talents in the most peaceful and independent of circumstances. Our choices determine the lifestyle we desire to achieve to have. And then in some cases, our bed has been made for us and sometimes all we can do is lay down and rest upon the surface that blankets our society. Can it be said without interruption that any nation has the best interest of its own people, at least, for the most part? And if not, what other plans may be at work with governing powers that make them appear impenetrable? 

 

References

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Self‑Reliance and Other Essays. Dover Publications, 1993.

Goldfield, B. (2023). There is No Place for US: Working and Homeless in America. Melville

House.

Hilbert, M. (2020). Digital Technology and Social Change: The Digital Transformation of Society from a Historical Perspective. Dialogues in Clinical

HUD Exchange. https://www.hudexchange.info/homelessness-assisstance/.

Accessed 03 Aug 2026.

Library of Congress (n.d.). The American Industrial Revolution in the United States.

https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/industrial-revolution/. Accessed 02 Aug 2026.

Neuroscince. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7366943/ Accessed 03 Aug 2026.

Park, Y. (2015). In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl’s Journey to Freedom. Penguin Books.

The Scofield Study Bible: King James Version. Edited by C. I. Scofield, Oxford University Press, 2003.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, (n.d.). Homelessness Assistance Programs.