WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BEING NEIGHBORLY?

As Americans have increasingly moved away from small towns to urban and suburban living, something critical may have been lost in the transition – namely, our sense of community.

When writer Rod Dreher was an adolescent, he could not wait to escape his socially oppressive hometown of St. Francisville, La.

Years later, during his sister’s battle with cancer and following her death, however, he was amazed at the sense of community he saw in his hometown: The townspeople raised thousands of dollars for the family to cover medical costs, neighbors prepared meals and cleaned the house for the family and over 1,000 people attended her funeral.

Dreher realized if something happened to him, his wife, Julie, or his children, they would not have that kind of support, so they made the decision to leave Philadelphia and move back to Louisiana.
Read more