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Perspective: Being A Neighbor

Pixabay + Pixlr

While my religious beliefs are deeply, deeply suspect to anyone who is a devout practitioner of any one of the world’s religions, there is a profound biblical lesson that should inform the civic behavior for everyone in these fractured United States of America. That lesson comes from the concept of “being a neighbor” from the “Parable of the Good Samaritan.”

Germs and viruses will infect you regardless of your political or religious affiliation. Be a neighbor and wear your mask.

Find an online first-hand account from a medical worker who has been on the front lines battling the epidemic. Help them out by being a neighbor and wearing your mask.

Find an online first-hand account of someone who’s lost a family member or friend from the epidemic. Respect that loss by being a neighbor and wearing your mask.

There are millions of Americans who are facing hunger and eviction in the coming weeks and months. Be a neighbor and donate your time, your extra food and extra money to help the unlucky, the unfortunate and the invisible who walk among the lucky, the fortunate and the visible.

And remember that being a real American is to be a person of honor, a person who believes in compromise to achieve a common good, a person who respects the truth, and a person who understands that freedom is part of a larger social compact.       

Or, to put it another way, a real American is also neighbor.

I’m Andrew Nelson, and that’s my perspective.    

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