It is an undisputed fact that Americans are the most philanthropically generous people on the planet.

And it is an undisputed fact that due to the lockdown hysteria of the federal, state, and local governments, many Americans have seen their life’s work ruined. PPP loans and COVID relief bills won’t fix the gaping holes that these arbitrary and reactionary lockdowns have created in the American economy.

Which means that it’s time for Americans to look at their neighbors and ask, “what can I do to help this Christmas?”

Columnist Salena Zito wrote a gripping op-ed in the Washington Examiner about the impact that this shutdown has had on families that in ordinary times would have been held up by politicians in front of cameras. Now, these hardworking people are being left to struggle alone.

There have been societal effects from these closures that show both the good and the bad in our culture. Many question how we were so willing as a nation to give up our liberties so quickly. Others find it to be a political occurrence and praise it. Others in the middle wonder how elected officials have become so tone-deaf that they can stand at a podium and destroy their friends’ and neighbors’ lives, knowing they will walk away from the cameras and the press still holding their jobs. They also wonder if these elected officials have ever sat with a restaurant owner who is on the brink of closing forever, has laid off the staff, and struggles to make ends meet.”

Years from now, when we walk past the graves of the restaurants, shops, and gyms that didn’t make it, will we ask ourselves how we let this happen? Or will we have accepted that we laid down our liberties one day to flatten a curve and never fought to get them back?”

This is not to say that people should break laws intended to protect the vulnerable from a deadly virus. But it is time to wonder whether the government has wielded too much power with little communication or outreach.”

The loss of individual liberty during this pandemic is a topic which could fill a thousand blog posts, and while Zito weaves it into her op-ed (and you should read it), I am focusing on the help that people need RIGHT NOW, in a season that is widely considered to be the most charitable time of the year.

Americans, your neighbors need your help. They need it with no strings attatched. They need to try and give their kids hope – something that has been stripped from our children in multitudes of ways during 2020. Your neighbors need to EAT. I had an off-the-record conversation with one of my son’s teachers, who expressed her concern that some of his classmates are in such extreme circumstances that she doesn’t know if they actually have food in the home.

And while a COVID relief bill looks to be finally (thanks, Nancy Pelosi!) about ready to be passed, the wheels of bureaucracy mean that we don’t know when any financial assistance will actually arrive. As Ronald Reagan once said:

However, everyday Americans are not bound by red tape or stupid bureacratic rules. Usually, when we see a real need, we don’t stop to ask about the political views of those asking for the help (because we aren’t crazy people). We just help.

Now, the average person can’t help on the scale of, say, a Mackenzie Scott. The ex-wife of Scott Bezos, Amazon billionaire, has donated in the range of $4 billion in charitable giving over the last few months. Yes, that’s BILLIONS-with-a-B. And she put out a personal message on Medium listing off the charities or institutions from across the country that she feels is doing good in their communities to meet the immediate needs of those struggling the most, asking Americans to “feed the hope” of others right now. All of the groups or charities that Scott names might not be your cup of tea, but no one can deny that as far as raw charitable giving goes, she has put her money where her mouth is in the most emphatic way possible.

So, what can average Americans do? If you still have a job, have you checked in on how your local food bank is doing? The numbers they are serving have likely skyrocketed. Have you checked in on your actual neighbors – the ones you live next to? Are they doing okay? Merely extending the hand of concern costs you nothing, and may mean the world to someone who has enough food to eat and money to pay the bills, but is struggling emotionally. How different would the feeling in this country be right now if we could put the politics of the moment aside – which a majority of the people would prefer to do – and simply ask about how our fellow Americans are doing?

More importantly, how differently would YOU feel if you gave hope to someone right now?

Featured image via Pixabay, cropped, Pixabay license