PRESS EDITORIAL: A time for empathy to shine

Mean-spirited. Vindictive. Intolerant. Threatening.

Do those adjectives describe the people of America, Wisconsin or the small cities, villages and towns of Ozaukee County?

No. Of course not.

Humans have a core of basic goodness, a sense of decency that is the foundation of society.

Those traits are dominant, but not universal, and contrary behavior by a subdivision of society has been a feature of humanity in all cultures for time immemorial. If it seems more prevalent in the U.S. in 2020, it may be because there is, for some reason, an evident sense of entitlement for the aggrieved to lash out, enabled by the convenient, anonymous weapon of social media.

Old-fashioned media—physical placards—were the weapons used by the persons who vented their rage over the presidential election by placing signs in the Town of Saukville displaying an obscenity in bold capital letters suggesting the sexual assault of the newly elected president of the U.S. and the 80 million Americans who voted for him.

County law enforcement authorities properly declined to act against this as an expression of freedom of speech. As long as the signs are in place, passersby can be amazed that the perpetrators managed to spell the F-word correctly.

Elsewhere in Wisconsin and a number of other states, death threats have been made against election workers by people who disapprove of the outcomes of recounts and audits. In Michigan, a group of malcontents angered by the election results gathered outside of the home of the secretary of state shouting obscenities and displaying firearms.

Mean spirits are at work outside of the poisonous political universe as well, even in the world of sports.

After a Green Bay Packers receiver dropped a potential game-winning pass, he received—you guessed it—death threats. When the Vanderbilt University football team announced that senior class member Sarah Fuller would be its kicker, thus becoming the first woman to play on a major college football team, she instantly became the target of a slew of insulting, misogynistic, even threatening comments from (presumably male) social media attackers.

All of this noxious behavior, disturbing as it is, serves to illuminate with stark contrast the instinctive human kindness that is the norm. In a fraught time defined by a health catastrophe, that instinct thrives in spontaneous good works.

Readers of Ozaukee Press learned last week of how Saukville residents banded together to help struggling families. Dozens of households in the Cedar Sauk neighborhood contributed Christmas gifts and clothing for children and mothers who were victims of domestic abuse.

Then there was the story of the Port Washington couple who expressed their thankfulness that they were able to keep their jobs during the pandemic recession by filling a table in front of their home with food items that were free for the taking. Many in need accepted the food gifts; others who stopped by contributed to the food supply.

Similar generosity moved those who have been responding to a Port Washington woman’s ongoing appeal on Facebook for donations of food for the Food Pantry. The collection barrel in front of her Chestnut Street home has been overflowing with contributions.

These are a few of many examples, the crest on a wave of empathy. Our communities need this, for these are dark times under the shadow of a relentless pandemic that brings not only physical and psychological misery but, for growing numbers of families, poverty.

This will be a difficult Christmas, with beloved rituals of the day diminished or denied for many families, and with bleak hopes for adequate food for the table, much less fancy holiday fare, for some of those left financially bereft by the loss of jobs and unemployment benefits.

This is a time made for that innate sense of human goodness that can restore a bit of longed-for holiday happiness with acts of generosity, uplifting both those who give and those who receive.

There are many opportunities to be generous with gifts and volunteering through charitable organizations, but the most direct way to get help to those most in need is to give to one of three food pantries that serve Ozaukee County. The resources of these crucial providers of sustenance for the needy are taxed and their volunteer workers are stressed by unprecedented demand, but they are carrying on with the most basic act of charity in the human experience—feeding the hungry.

For those who wish to help them, here is the contact information:

Port Washington Food Pantry
1800 N. Wisconsin St.
Port Washington, WI 53074
262-284-1148
thefoodpantryinc.com

Saukville Community Food Pantry
166 W. Dekora St.
Saukville, WI 53080
262-689-8591
saukvillefoodpantry.org

Family Sharing of Ozaukee County
10020 Overland Ct.
Grafton, WI 53024
262-377-0634
familysharingozaukee.org