If we look back to the end of World War II, being neighborly was not a far-fetched idea. Neighbor asking a neighbor for a hand or a tool they might need or for a good conversation.
Fast forward to today, and most of us don’t even know our neighbor’s first name and often offer nothing more than that awkward glancing wave we give each other out of force if we just so happen to see each other outside the house.
Our communities have lost one of our most cherished ideals of brotherhood and the valuable connection that a community has when the people who reside within it no longer seek to have personal relationships with one another.
As a community, we must bring back the decades-old idea that being close to the people around us should not be frowned upon or discarded, because we never know when we might need them one day.
Humans are social beings that require interaction with one another. We have such an unhappy society because we seek to resent or dislike those around us before getting to know one another.
We have lost our community ways of togetherness and sought to seek isolation from one another long before any pandemic even started. Now more than ever, our communities should put pettiness and fear aside and gain the courage to converse with one another.
We never know who we find in doing so: a new business partner or a friend to help you threw a tough time, or just someone who needs that cup of sugar.
As a whole, we have everything to gain and very little to lose by just reaching out a friendly hand to those around us. Not including the mental health benefits that could be game-changing if the community came together to share in more than a glancing wave and returned to offering a cup of sugar.

Jordan Juarez
Rio Rancho