Not enough people feel a responsibility to the folks next door, or across the street

Contributed By:Dorothy Nevils

I remember a show my kids used to love watching. The kindly Mr. Rogers would put on his cardigan and sneakers (or loafers), and go into his song. Inviting the children to be his neighbors. He was so gentle and kind, and he treated the children like they were the most important people in the world. I’d find myself enjoying the show, too. The fact that he had not the greatest singing voice didn’t matter. They knew they were precious in his sight. I cannot imagine a one of them not wanting to be his neighbor.

The kids grew up and created their own neighborhoods, and Mr. Rogers died. Yet those who had watched his show faithfully, some of them anyway, internalized his message and, as adults, used his lessons, plus those models supplied by responsible parents, as a map for how they should behave. Unfortunately, we’ve moved to a new era in many places, and not enough people feel a responsibility to the folks next door, or across the street, or on the other side of the alley. At least, that’s the way it is where I live.

When I relocated to my home in the Horace Mann neighborhood, I was enveloped by the people already there, most of them anyway. We had a block club. Our children, teens and younger, played in the park; the little ones rode Big Wheels and Green Machines from one kid’s house to the other, doing their best to “peel rubber” when they turned at the other’s house, time and time again. Most of the neighbors knew each other by name. After winter, three or four of us would take to the alley and get rid of “Ol’ Man Winter’s” secret stash. We’d trade tips and tales and tools…There were folks who worked for the city, ordinance enforcers, I’m sure, but we neighbors didn’t really need them. We pitched in and did what needed to be done.

Of the block where I live, only three or four houses now house the original neighbors. Younger people have moved in, but except for one or two, there’s little evidence they grew up with Mr. Rogers. A fast food place sits on a prominent corner, seemingly a necessity for neighborhoods gone Black. Cars race down the street, morning, noon, and night… and all times between, the loud bass and filthy lyrics hurting brain and soul. Carryout bags are “toss-outs” up and down the street, where it’s usually my job to get it before the gulls get wind of it…

For the life of me, I cannot figure out what happened. How did this happen? How did a few people make such a drastic change to something so well-established? An even greater mystery is why?

An easy answer would involve the word self. “People are self-centered,” some would say. Others would use the term selfish. Neither word really makes sense because the word self is reflective, pointing right to the person!

My dilemma is this: If people are concerned about themselves, wouldn’t it seem logical that they would want that which is clean… that which is attractive… that which is good?

I’ve gotta think on this a while, try to figure this one out… Maybe I need to watch a few episodes of “Mr.Rogers’ Neighborhood” …

Story Posted:09/09/2016