Helping Neighbors Creates Community

Redistributionists — from the old Soviet propaganda machine to Hillary Clinton — made the right pitch, but with the wrong idea in mind.

The Soviets and Mao Zedong, as well as Clinton and other modern liberals in this country, have done their best to promote the idea of selfless giving. The USSR touted the "New Soviet Man," and China had its counterpart, people who were happy to share the fruits of their labors with their neighbors. Clinton's book, "It Takes A Village," sought to do the same.

And, of course, we all know John Kennedy's famous inaugural speech quote, "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."

Such propaganda is aimed at justifying government commandeering our wealth and, in many respects, our very lives. The reality, of course, is that government uses force to confiscate our output; it really doesn't matter if we want to share it or not.

The original notion of a village rearing a child, however, is worth remembering. Simply put, it's the idea of families, friends and neighbors looking out for each other. In a word, it's the idea of community.

As our government has grown ever larger and more intrusive, it has abrogated that sense of community to a large extent. People don't look out for their neighbors anymore; they rely on police patrols to keep the peace. You don't see many community gatherings to help a family in need; instead we steer them to government offices to apply for taxpayer assistance. Forget the old-fashioned house-raising parties; there's always Section 8 housing.

We have only ourselves to blame. Government grows only because we allow it. We elect tax-happy representatives because they promise to give us benefits, and too few of us realize that they're taking our own money to provide them.

And we've lost the sense of community in the process.

Most people complain that they're overtaxed and overburdened by government. There's no reason that can't be reversed, and we can help it along by recommitting ourselves to helping our community — in the true sense, not that of the government propagandists.

Saturday was "Make a Difference Day," but efforts to help our neighbors don't have to be limited to one day. People can emulate the Boy Scouts, whose slogan is "Do a good turn daily."

Administration officials have sought to co-opt the annual event, but it began as a private endeavor. USA Weekend magazine sowed the idea, and it has been taken up by companies and groups that include Disney, NASCAR and the AARP. Government doesn't create community; it's the result of thousands of actions large and small of citizens working together to make their cities and towns a desirable place to live and work.

The premise is simple: Look for ways you or your group can help your community. Ideas can range from donating fire alarms to visiting people in hospitals and nursing homes. Groups can clean up litter along their streets or paint and reinforce the wheelchair ramp at a neighbor's home.

Projects can range from the simple to the elaborate, and it need not involve big expenses. The idea is to reinforce the idea that we indeed are a village, and we can make a bigger difference in each other's lives than any government agency can.

It shouldn't be hard to find a way to help one's neighbors. In the process, we don't just help the recipient of our actions; we help our neighborhoods in much greater ways.

And if small works of altruism can lead to a new sense of community, perhaps more people can recognize that we can make a much bigger difference in each other's lives than a government that merely shuffles our taxes around to others.

REPRINTED FROM THE COLORADO SPRINGS GAZETTE

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