April 23, 2010
Taking the Time to Make a Difference
Along the property line: Part II
BY PAUL R. LEINGANG
(Listen to Paul read this column | Weekly podcast)
Earlier this year, I experienced an unforseen consequence. Or a bad result from a good intention. Or the consequences of Adam’s fall.
In any case, I can now report Part II of the experience.
Some weeks ago, I decided to trim back an overgrown hedge along the property line with my next-door neighbor. The fence was less than four feet high; the hedge of euonymous plants had ascended to about 13 feet tall.
My plan was to trim the hedge back, so that it would be at or below the height of the fence. When I did that, though, all that remained along the 25-foot length of fence were four twisted and leaf-less stems of euonymous; all the leafy parts had come from the upper branches up, down and sideways.
So I cut down the plants all the way to the ground. Instead of a fence-high hedge, I have little stubs in bare ground.
The exposed fence had lots of gaps and twists as boards had been forced apart by the growing branches of euonymous.
It seemed only fair to me, that I should offer to re-build the neighbor’s fence that had been damaged by my hedge, and then we both would benefit from it.
It was the same kind of idea that led to my cutting back of the hedge in the first place. Unforeseen consequences. Good intentions. You get the picture.
I removed a few of the crooked and misplaced boards – and one of the fence posts promptly keeled over. It had rotted through and of course, I thought it would be easy to replace. It was just one post along the fence row.
As I pushed the section of fencing aside to remove the stub of the rotten post, three more posts gave way.
Over the course of some weekends and evenings, with some new posts and boards, the fence is back up. Some additional nails or screws are still needed, but the fence is basically whole again.
I have been eyeing that sagging gate lately, though. It looks like it might be easy to fix, I think, but then I wonder if I’ll ever learn.
* * *
Property rights are complicated. In all of the years of living side by side, neither my neighbor or I have ever gone to check the city records or surveys, to see exactly where may lie the exact line of ownership. We live in relative harmony and good will, balancing in this micro-world of rights and responsibilities, of common good, of respect for each other.
I can’t help but think of the reality of unforeseen consequences in the larger world of nations, and how borders are constructed and maintained.
What was the Christian reaction to the Berlin Wall? To the barricades isolating Palestinians in some parts of Israel? To the fence today in some areas between the United States and Mexico? What will be the result of demanding that people carry proof of legal immigration in Arizona?
The simplest solution may have to begin with the acknowledgement that our relationships with our neighbors are never simple, that unilateral decisions have bilateral consequences.
The next step is to move ahead in mutual respect for each other, not through the imposition of the will of the stronger on the weaker, but always honoring the dignity of Gods’ sons and daughters on both sides of the fence.
At the heart of the Christian Family Movement and of other movements springing from the encouragement of Cardinal Joseph Cardijn is the sequence of “observe, judge and act.”
Observing must always come before judgment is made and action is taken; along our property lines, the view must always be seen from both sides, if we are to make a difference that is pleasing to our God and to our neighbors.
Comments are welcome at office@cfm.org or the Christian Family Movement, P.O. Box 925, Evansvsille, IN 47706-0925