Civil society alive and well in NC
Published February 15, 2014
by Lee Brett, Civitas online, February 14, 2014.
There’s always a silver lining in any cloud, and this week’s crippling snowstorm was no exception. In the midst of car accidents, paralyzing traffic gridlock, and power outages, Tar Heels stepped forward in droves to help their neighbors.
With thousands of drivers trapped on icy roads, North Carolinians did not hesitate to extend a hand to their fellow citizens. A Chapel Hill bookstore provided shelter and warm socks for three dozen stranded drivers. Business owners let people sleep in the warmth of their stores. People shoveled their neighbors’ driveways. One young woman posted a note to 10,000 strangers on Reddit with the title “WARM LIVING ROOM AVAILABLE”:
I have already seen several people (including families with young children) abandoning their cars and attempting to walk someplace for shelter. If you are near the downtown Raleigh area/Cameron Village (specifically Oberlin Court) and need some warm coffee, warm clothes, or just someplace to wait out the storm, my living room is open and the fridge is stocked with beer. Feel free to PM me or comment on here, the invitation is open.
I personally witnessed dozens of people helping to push cars that got stuck at a steep intersection in front of my apartment. Complete strangers walked up to car windows and asked, “Need help?” Shoulder to shoulder with people they had never seen or spoken to, they pushed vehicle after vehicle over the snowy crest of the hill.
People often forget that government is only the uppermost layer of political society. It provides things that ordinary people working together cannot provide: national defense, public safety, a system for enforcing laws and contracts, and so on. But a much more fundamental part of democracy is civil society, a complex web of social connections that achieves far more good than government ever can. Family members, friends, and neighbors help each other not because they are forced to, but because they want to.
Watching the Good Samaritans all around Raleigh this week, I was very proud to be a North Carolinian.
February 15, 2014 at 9:29 am
Norm Kelly says:
This is common, typical behavior in our country. All over the country, even in California where the most government supporters seem to live.
More of people helping people would occur if government simply got out of the way. Having government step in to force out people helping people causes us to be more isolationist in our attitudes. The common refrain becomes 'the government ought to do something', instead of 'i see a need, i'll help'. What the typical lib appears to miss is the obvious right in front of their faces. What the typical lib seems to miss is that this happens EVERY TIME there's a need. Helpful people come out of the woodwork, strangers working with strangers, to help strangers. Because the difference between the government 'oughta do something's' becomes people actually doing something that's worthwhile. Something the government has no ability to do. The government uses the same band-aid for every need, regardless of whether the band-aid does any good or not. The governments attitude seems to be 'at least we're doing something'. But the government crowds out people who actually CAN help with the specific need.
TEA people believe in smaller government specifically for this reason. People do NOT need, nor do we want, government interference with people helping people.
