Barbara Lazear Ascher's On Compassion

The example that affected me the most was when there was a homeless man walking across the street towards a mother and child. Due to instinct, the mother held the carriage closer and harder. To ensure the safety of her and her child, she gave him money. It was not that she felt compassion for him, but instead, she thought that this would keep him from harming herself and her child. It was not that the man acted in any unacceptable way, but that the woman and child were the ones at risk. The author shows compassion as more of a transaction as “the man stands and stares.” The fixed stare made her feel uneasy and nervous. It is as if time stopped. it was not a genuine act of kindness on the mother’s part or that she felt sympathetic for him. There is symbolism of protection “[when the mother] passes a folded dollar over her child’s head.” The man “does not know that acceptance of the gift and gratitude are what make this transaction complete.” It is visible that the woman only offers to help the man out of

People tend to brush off something or ignore something that we do not understand or like. Many Americans do this. So if most of America does this, then what gets done with that problem? Nothing! Barbara Lazear Ascher’s ‘On Compassion’ shows this to a new level. She shows us how the homeless is struggling and everyone turns their heads about it even though it is a big problem in New York City. Ascher’s use of good logos, pathos, and ethos comes together to show people what we are all guilty of at some point in our life. She shows us how the person 's reaction of a homeless person is to how the homeless person reacts to them.

Compassion is learned through experience and seeing those less fortunate; it brings out sympathy because one cannot ignore it when unfortunate people are everywhere.

Ascher’s “On Compassion” offer readers a brief encounter with New York City’s citizens as they confront the less fortunate members of society- the homeless. She describes a young mother walking down the street with her baby in a stroller who becomes agitated upon seeing a homeless man walking

Where does the compassion that most of humanity have come from? Is it fear, guilt or just the drive to be good people that instills compassion within us? Barbara Ascher discusses this and humanity’s treatment of the homeless in her essay “On Compassion.” Ascher utilizes rhetorical questions, introspective diction, and shortened syntax in order to effectively convey an inquisitive and hopeful attitude towards the way the homeless are treated.

Compassion, by definition, is a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering. In our modern society, compassion plays a major role in the act of kindness. Many people believe that doing a good deed is a selfless act since they do not get nothing in return. Others believe that doing a good deed to make you feel good about yourself is selfish. It is a theory that causes you to ponder on the purpose of compassion. In Barbara Lazear Ascher’s essay, On Compassion, she contemplates this theory. By using a variety of writing techniques, Ascher is able to share her views on compassion in way that speaks to the audience.

Raising money and donating to good causes are just some of the many things that I like to do to serve my community, However showing empathy , tutoring, and volunteering are my favorite ways to serve others. Even in the smallest form possible, showing compassion with a servile attitude can positively affect not only the person you’re helping but also

Compassion international started in 1952 when American evangelist Everett Swanson’s heart was broken at seeing children orphaned by the Korean War, dying in the streets. Although he was ministering troops at the time, Swanson left South Korea promising to help the children. By 1975, Compassion International had expanded to seventeen other developing countries with more than 25,000 sponsored children. Two years later, Compassion Australia started in Laurie & Olive McCowan’s Newcastle home with the sponsorship of a single child. Compassion International grew to 250,000 sponsored children by 1998, 500,000 in 2003 & eventually 1 million in 2009.

Where we are is the grand culmination of hundreds of years of cooperating as a species to make for a grander environment that appeals to “all.” Despite our constant effort to improve the quality of life on earth, however, an increasingly tremendous problem pertaining the same subject has been growing “right below our noses”: homelessness. We, the common people, typically place those in such plight into great disregard; push them not off the streets but to the far back of our heads. In the article “On Compassion”, former NEW YORK TIMES columnist, Barbara Ascher, teaches us the ignorance of our denial and the importance of the helpless’ presence, and she does this through the heavy use of contrast, figurative language, a good quantity of rhetorical questions, and some very clever wording. She suggested that the presence of the homeless helps teach us compassion. Afterall, “compassion is not a character trait like a sunny disposition. It must be learned.”

Dalai Lama once said “Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.” But how does one learn how to love or feel compassion for others? People all around the world wonder why the feel compassion for others. Most people feel compassion because it helps them understand how others are feeling so they can respond appropriately to a certain situation. Barbara Lazear Ascher, a former attorney and a current author, focused on compassion and how it is developed by people. Ascher’s purpose is to show that compassion is not something that you are born with, it is something that you have to learn and practice throughout your lifetime. A way to practice compassion is when you see homeless. Ascher’s reaches her

Barbara Lazear Ascher, born 1946, Full time writer; argues why a person would show compassion and learn empathy.The man in the story is walking across the street past a mother. The mother sees him and shows compassion to give him money. The author explains the reason why she gave him money. “Was it fear or compassion that motivated the gift?” The poverty rate in new york was growing while the rich start to feel compassion and want to help the growing needy.The author states in order to improve yourself you must help someone else. That people want to feel better by giving. The author quotes”we cannot deny the existence of the helpless as their presence grows.” If you have enough and someone needs something you have more than

Throughout the literary piece "On Compassion" by Barbara Ascher, figurative language and intense diction is applied to demonstrate her skeptical attitude toward compassion. When comparing ideas throughout the text, Ascher demonstrates a skeptical attitude about the intentions of compassion. As she describes the homeless man, Ascher explains how he acts "like a bridegroom waiting at the altar, his eyes pierce the white veil" (Ascher 1). This simile portrays the man's awe in the gift of money which the mother of the baby is offering. However, Ascher goes on to explain if it was "fear or compassion that motivated the gift" (Ascher 1).

The current class has been very informative on nursing theories and it is the dream of every aspiring nursing student and registered nurses to provide compassionate care to the patients. Nurses have a role not only to offer physical care but to offer mental, spiritual and emotional support to patients as well. Patients with complex and frequently diverse needs must be given the full attention of the nurse based on their needs. Consistent research indicated the significant benefits which ensue when nurses offer compassionate care; however this is not always the case, especially among nurses which are involved in direct care of terminally ill patients and such nurses end up suffering from compassion fatigue, this is what Joinson (1992) described

Attention getter: Compassion is not taught; it is gained through experiences which soon becomes to define one as an individual. The more we hurt, they more we begin to acknowledge the presence of others.

Though it is evident that compassion is indeed a fundamental aspect of nursing care, (Delves-Yates, 2015) contends that the provision of compassionate care has been undervalued in modern nursing, citing The Francis Report as just one in a number of serious indictments of nursing practice. Moreover, (Burridge, et al., 2015) assert that in busy, task-oriented settings, clinical interventions and record-keeping are regularly prioritised over the provision of compassionate care and therefore emphasise compassion literacy as an essential competence in nursing. As opposed to regarding compassion as nothing more than an abstract moral value, compassion literacy recognises that the provision of compassionate care is dependent on factors such as knowledge