Homeowner shoveling snow for the neighborhood is confronted by neighbor who assumes he has been hired by the HOA and demands he clear her walkway: 'I've been waiting for my walkway to be shoveled out. Are you going to do it today?'

Going out of your way to do favors for people is the right thing to do; it feels good and fulfills the social contract, that unspoken agreement that we will look out for one another because some day we may need to rely on that same act of grace. But there's something that happens when you do something for enough people or for long enough: it stops being a "favor" and simply becomes an expectation, and at that point, things can't keep going the way that they were.

When you're volunteering or otherwise going the extra mile to do something for your community, as with anything you do in life, you're bound to run into those who are eager to take advantage of a good thing. They see generosity as something to be taken advantage of, not as something to be revered and respected. It's almost as if they are determined to ruin something that is being done simply for the good of the people, out of the kindness of someone's heart.

And everywhere you turn in life, you see this: people looking to close the gap and exploit any opportunity for a profit. It is, after all, what we've been trained to do: chase that hustle, adopt that grindset. (You just have to "lock in.") The reality is that, unless you're born into it, money doesn't grow on trees, and there are way more limitations built into the system than you might be led to believe, and you will need to scrape and scrimp your way to the top of the heap of masses that are looking to do the same. And it's a shame because instead of lifting each other up, we are pushing each other down, aiming to stand on the heads of others if it gets us just that little bit further up the heaving pile. 

We've literally reached the point where every gap gets closed, monetized, optimized. It's like that anecdote you see everywhere about how in the 2010s, taco trucks used to be somewhere you could go to get the best taco of your life for $3. Now, 10-15 years later, they're all being run by business students who are selling average-at-best tacos for $10.50 a pop. And even things like shoes, card games, electronics, and anything that has any sort of limited appeal associated with it that can be bought and sold for a profit, are.

Altruism for the sake of community and the social contract almost feels out of place in a life where we are increasingly incentivized to exploit one another, and as we feel better about doing so, we are simultaneously isolated from both each other and the world immediately around us. But, we simply can't let the detractors and bad actors distract and discourage us from what is such a vital part of our social experience. 

Wild weather brings out something of the same in us. It's almost Shakespearean in a sense where it seems to be a reflection (or cause?) of moral and emotional disturbances in the world around us.

When you're able and have the means to do so, it's always nice to go out of your way on a blustery winter's day and help excavate your elderly neighbors' cars and property to ensure that they aren't completely snowed in. But, any time you're out doing something for the community, you need to be wary of the community busybodies who want to know exactly what you're doing, who authorized you to do it, and whether or not you're going to be doing it for free for them also. Navigating these engagements with these people takes tact and poise that a lot of us didn't sign up for. Which is exactly how it was when this homeowner was confronted by a busybody entitled neighbor who so desperately wanted him to shovel her walkway for her, and pronto!