A good neighbor

McKenna Snow
MSMU Class of 2023

(9/2023) Why write a feature story on those who do good in our local communities? This question shows that it is all too easy to take someone’s good efforts for granted. "It’s what is to be expected," we often tell ourselves. "They should work hard or be virtuous. It’s part of the basics of being a good human being."

These are all true statements, but they often discount the efforts, goodwill, and care that someone has put into what they do. Being grateful is an afterthought, since your neighbor being a good person seems like a silly thing to be thankful for.

It’d be like being thankful for water, shelter, food… see what I mean?

Being a good neighbor is something of a basic necessity in one’s local community. This not only applies in one’s personal life, but in public life through one’s job, as well. How well we choose to do our jobs—not necessarily with skill but with care and attention—impacts those around us, even if we don’t see it. We should be a good neighbor to those around us in how we live our family life and our occupations. The question of ‘who is my neighbor?’ famously asked about by a scholar of the law to Jesus in the gospels draws this point out. Jesus responds with the story about the Good Samaritan, who saves the man he meets on the side of the road, who had been a victim to robbers and left for dead. To be a good neighbor is to treat those we encounter on our daily road—as the Good Samaritan did—with mercy.

As social and rational creatures, we interact with each other on a daily basis, even if it’s in passive interactions like getting our mail and never saying hello to the mailman. In this case, we are ‘cared for’ by our neighbor, the mailman. This is a brief encounter with another person’s actions, even if we don’t see the mailman drop off the letter. The mailman dropping off the right letter to the right house makes quite a big difference in one’s experience of getting the mail. When the mailman chooses to be a ‘good neighbor’ by being thorough, most of the time the proper letters are delivered. And when there is a mix-up, rarely does it have to do with the ill will of a mailman; usually it is just inevitable human error, which is also a part of life. We give each other grace for that mix-up, get it sorted out, and move on.

We shouldn’t take our neighbors’ good actions for granted, even if they’re something of a basic necessity in order for societies to thrive. These actions are an encounter with virtue—a conscious, deliberate choice or habit to do the right thing, whether it be in one’s job or in caring for one’s family. It is easy to be impatient, to give up and go an easier route, to cut corners, or to simply complete one’s job begrudgingly. It is an inspiring thing to do what is more arduous for the sake of something greater—serving one’s community with joy, patience, and love.

That is why members of our community who do good are worthy of all the feature articles we can write. I think it is incredibly important to highlight those in our communities who do good—oftentimes, who I interview for feature articles have been doing many small tasks over the course of a year or even 35 years, and I am writing about that. Often, it isn’t that they did one major feat that must go on the front page, but that they have lived well in their corner of the world, and have loved those they meet on their own roads well. They haven’t helped every person around the globe as they walk down their road; they’ve simply loved those on their road well, in their everyday life choices. Most of us won’t know what they’ve done for others until we ask them about it. I bet most of your decisions to be patient with a coworker, to go the extra mile in volunteering on your Saturday off, to play one more round of that board game your child loves, go unnoticed. That is alright. God noticed, and your neighbor noticed. It is still worth it.

Feature articles are some of my favorite articles to write because I get to hear the stories, memories, and cares of members of the community. No two people are the same, so each time I am tasked with interviewing someone new, I am excited and interested in what I might learn about the new person and what their road is like. I think it’s important to highlight those who do good because it shows that ‘ordinary people’ like you and me really do make an impact on our communities. Feature articles are also a way to express gratitude for the people in our communities who do good, so that there is some recognition we can give back to them for all that they’ve given us.

As a newspaper, we have the platform to recognize the people in our community who spend years doing good without being spotlighted, and offer them a chance to share their story with others. Everyone has different gifts, talents, and interests, and feature articles allow for a chance to celebrate that. It is important to recognize these members in our community who do good because, like shelter or water, our communities need them. We need them and we need to express our gratitude where we can—whether it be through a feature article or through a Christmas card left out by your mailbox for your mailman.

"And who is my neighbor?" The question hangs in the air as Jesus looks at the scholar of the law with love. A story is then told to show him the answer. We know the answer now, too.

Perhaps our own stories won’t all be in feature articles, but we know there is still great value both in being a good neighbor, and appreciating our neighbors. May we all be ‘good Samaritans’ to those we encounter on the road ahead of us.