There are plenty of things that cost money in America, and then there are plenty of things that don't cost us a thing in monetary terms, but do cost us a bit of our time and consideration, in actually being conscious that the world does not revolve just around ourselves and just around our priorities, but that there is a necessary interplay between each one of us to others, which provides us with a real opportunity for harmony and fairness to be part of our living experience.
That is to say, for instance, there are going to be times in our lives, when we will see someone that will beg for money, of which, a lot of times, we just wish we weren't in that situation, because it make us feel rather uncomfortable, but it really shouldn't, especially since the apparent embarrassment and the shame isn't coming from us, but from the other person. In those types of situations if you determine that you will donate some change, a few words, or a few dollars, the most important part of the transaction isn't about the money, though that seems to be what is being asked for, but actually the eye contact and the courtesy that the giver is expressing to the receiver, so that if you give money to someone, in a dismissive manner, as if they are an annoyance or unclean to you, that is not the same, as giving money in a respectful fashion, engaging the other person in a way, in which you express that you care for them as a fellow human being, recognizing that though you do not know their personal situation, that in the big picture of possibilities that could be you, so if the circumstances were different, and that was you, you would still want to have your self-respect, and the acknowledgement from others that you are an individual of worth.
Each one of us has value, yet, some of us, suffer from mental instability, dysfunctional family situations, impaired mental capacities, abusive personal situations, habitual illicit drug usage or drinking problems, of which, the consequences of these things, have a strong tendency to make people that have decent qualities into something far less than what they could be. So too, bad breaks, can break a person's spirit, and in order to get any of those good human qualities back, or to the forefront, the most secure way to do so, is not necessarily to throw money at the problem, because that, more often than not, is just a band-aid, but to recognize that these unfortunate individuals, are deserving of receiving respect, and of being treated with the common courtesy that each of us should display to the other, that they indeed are valid human beings, of which their hurt, is being displayed to us in the most obvious way.
The more that we raise our eyes from our concerns and from our own little world, and recognize that this world encompasses a whole variety of people, of which some of these people, are in a rather bad and vulnerable place, it is our obligation to do our part, to let them know that we care for them, which we demonstrate in our actions and our demeanor to those that really are essentially seeking for some honor, for some respect, for some courtesy, of which these things together will do their part in restoring their innate dignity.