There were times, not that long ago when people were burdened under hard times. The times were so difficult that they could barely get food on the table, where shoes were made out of old tires, where friends and family had to bind together. When a neighbor, friend or family was in need, everyone would pitch in to help.

I recently read a blog post about how one author believes we have lost the great American value of caring for their neighbor. Sadly, I see where the author is coming from, as I have heard from other preppers, and read on many different occasions where commenters on blogs and articles would say that when the SHTF, they are not willing to help anyone who comes to them in need; and that those persons should have prepped when they had the chance. These comments reflect the mentality we have all come to learn over the years. The mentality of “what’s in it for me,” and “oh well, it’s not my problem.” Although, helping a person is a personal choice, I tend to agree with the blog post I read about how we are losing our sense of personal values. The writer writes:

The idea of helping out our fellow man in this struggle we call life appears to be a distant memory. In the mind of a vast majority of the people in these modern times, caring for anyone other than yourself is more a novelty than an actual thing that happens. Caring used to be a part of our nature as human beings. There was a time in the not so distant past that if a neighbor was in need, his community could and would gladly step up and come to his door and offer a hand. When you would, without a second thought, share the bounties of your garden or your kitchen or your labor. Not one thought of “what’s in it for me?” or “I don’t have time for this, or “Screw them.”… let them take care of it themselves.

The author goes on to add that:

I fear we have lost most all of these “values” in the troubled times we live in. We are all so worried about “us” that we have lost the very fabric that once held us together. Face it. Most of us can’t even say that we know our neighbors…much less their kid’s names. We are too involved with “us” to look beyond our own front yards.

When push comes to shove, there may come a time when we, as individuals fall on hard times, and we would all feel blessed if a neighbor came to give us a hand, or help us out of a bind. Personally speaking, if a long term disaster were to occur, this author believes that helping out a neighbor and showing others how to be more self reliant would be more beneficial than allowing them to starve and be forgotten. Who knows, perhaps the favor can be repaid one day when hard times fall upon us.