Neighborliness

Knight Kiplinger stated in the magazine bearing his name that "federal spending has risen for decades - in good times and bad . . . and the greatest beneficiaries have been the people and businesses in and around Washington, D.C., my home town.//Expanding government has made the Washington region the most affluent in all of America-and that isn't good."

Recently while watching the 2012 MLB All-Star game on TV, I rambled off now and then and stumbled into PBS' Frontline--The History of the AIDS Epidemic where I jigsawed back and forth between the two. Consequently, I cannot comment fully on either except I know who won and lost. Yes, the American League lost but what about AIDS?

So much for my dilly dallying television ritual. As a Michigander, and a Tiger fan from childhood, I was not elated with the outcome. As I watched part of the AIDS document, I realized the the area surrounding the 'congressional arena', more or less, was plagued with the highest rate of AIDS in the nation. What caught my attention perhaps most vividly was the need to educate young people about the causes and hopefully treatments for AIDS.

One episode was ongoing when I tuned in but from what I could see and hear, abstinence was encouraged, not belittled. Cures and treatments are not the complete answer to the epidemic. However, learning about the ins and outs of AIDS before and not after the fact is better and abstinence, refraining from 'going all out' was highly recommended.]

Back to Kiplinger, a native of the area of such widespread AIDs. He lamented the fact that this affluent sector of our country has benefited disproportionately. At the same time, the area adjacent to our seat of government has not benefited those living nearby. We ask: Are they responsible? Most congress men and women probably do not live in the immediate ghetto-type environment, and many perhaps are unaware of the AIDS statistics, unemployment, lack of education and struggling for some pleasure in life, even if it has disastrous effects.

Strange way to watch a ball game I'd say, toggling back and forth. But I couldn't help but think of that ancient bit of wisdom spoken by a forgotten man, 'Love your neighbor as you love yourself.' Those people are neighbors of those who live and work prosperously in the area. Like it or not, they are neighbors. At a time when the wisdom of the Good Book and its numerous authors guided by an unseen Hand from above, is considered passe, there are truths that are immortal, applicable today and tomorrow just as yesterday.

Strange, isn't it, that so many neighbors, from Tigers to members of Congress, haven't discovered the joy of being a good neighbor as they and many of us live unaware of our neighbors.