Connections: Love Thy Neighbor

At a time of year when everything — the lack of crowds, the halcyon weather, the start of school — coalesces to underscore how good the life we lead is, we might tend to take it all for granted. But despite manifestations of extreme inequality (some members of our community depend on food pantries to eat, while others invest in second — or third, or fourth — homes that are far beyond anything we might have considered reasonable in size and cost only a few years ago), we share so many privileges here on the South Fork.

It is more than the gorgeous weather and traffic-free streets that have prompted these thoughts. As I write, today is the second day of the Jewish New Year, with the observance of Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year, arriving next week. From the time I was a child, I have eschewed formal religion, but some profound messages have sunk in. The Books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy instruct Jews in giving, or “tzedakah,” a word casually defined as charity, but which biblical scholars have explained is derived from the Hebrew word for justice, which I guess is the more accurate definition of the ideal that the observant are expected to pursue.

Never having studied Islam, it hadn’t immediately occurred to me that the Qur’an might also instruct its believers in justice. Searching the web, however, I found a text that explained that the Qur’an “not only lays stress on such great deeds of charity as the emancipation of slaves, the feeding of the poor, taking care of orphans, and doing good to humanity in general, but give sequal emphasis to smaller acts of generosity.”

Of course, Christians share the Old Testament and share similar traditions. Although church-going has, for the most part, declined in this country, congregants can be counted on to be charitable and to do the right thing for others. And many of us certainly try to, in the words of a popular hymn, “Brighten the Corner Where You Live.”

These ruminations may imply that I am turning to religion (supposedly the thing to do as one ages). But no, it is just that I am strongly reminded this week of the commonalty among the major Western religions at a moment when their basic tenets are being distorted in war and in the brutal treatment of refugees in Europe.

Let us count our blessings. Politically, here at home, our fights are about how to achieve an appropriate “quality of life,” not about how to protect our lives from harm. Yes, airport noise and beach trash might inspire passionate emotions, but these problems are also reminders of just how lucky we are and, perhaps, just how insulated from the violence of the world. Is it merely money that insulates us? Or is there, in fact, something in our system of government that — despite all appearances to the contrary — allows foes and debating factions to live relatively peaceably side by side? I don’t know.

I do know that how we react to headlines alerting us to others’ hardships depends on the values we learned at our elders’ knees, as much as it does on our ability to be of practical help. We don’t have to support those organizations that provide food or medicine or shelter to those in vulnerable circumstances. We don’t even have to read the headlines. But most of us do.

Recently I’ve noticed yard signs around town advertising the business of a prominent building company: “Live the Life,” the signs beckon. Is the good life we lead really defined by bulging, multimillion-dollar Shingle Style mansions? Or is it defined by our common will to extend a hand of friendship to our neighbors (or, at least, not to kill them)?