Everyday Ethics by Simon Longstaff

Author:Simon Longstaff
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ventura Press

Although the majority of Australians live in self-contained homes with their family or friends, we nearly all live close to other people in their self-contained homes with their family or friends. Does living near someone make them a neighbour? Or is something else required?

There are many settings in which people live close to others they barely know. They might nod at each other when passing but apart from that have no contact at all. In these circumstances people can show themselves to be deeply resistant to the idea that they might be bound together by reciprocal obligations. It is as though proximity counts for nothing. Old people have been dead in their homes for weeks before being discovered. There have been people all around them, sometimes only metres away and separated by nothing more substantial than a few bricks, but nobody has noticed or, perhaps, cared to notice their absence. People have been brutally attacked, their screams piercing the night air, without anyone thinking to call the police or otherwise intervene.

Such events suggest that the difference between strangers and neighbours lies not in physical proximity but in an attitude of care for others. Normally, our capacity for care is directed towards those closest to us: it is far easier to connect with people who form part of our immediate environment. But one of the remarkable things about human beings is our ability to care about apparent strangers, often living a world away. The generous support Australians offer to aid and development agencies is evidence of this.

So how can we be indifferent to those immediately before us? Is it out of respect for their privacy? Is it out of fear of being caught up in the lives of others? Are we too busy? Or is it just an oversight—not seeing what is right in front of us?

Good neighbourhoods are reserves of social capital that can be drawn on for the sake of all. Children can feel, and be, safer when the entire community is available to see to their welfare. Criminals can feel, and be, at greater risk of detection. Public goods—such as shared gardens for fresh fruit and vegetables—can be created and sustained. Older people can be integrated into a community where their experience and wisdom can be drawn on to give strength to others.

It seems that the hallmarks of being a good neighbour are to notice people, to care a little, and to offer to become involved if necessary. There does not need to be any formal obligation of reciprocity, although this is often assumed.

THE QUESTIONS

Many of us live close to others; they can be neighbours in name yet not in substance. What might we need to do to enjoy the benefits and share the burdens of creating good neighbourhoods?

In particular:

Is it possible to create a community event that might bring together people in the neighbourhood?

Would it be worth producing a map of your immediate neigh-bourhood—who lives where, an inventory of experience and skills, an indication of preferences for

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