“What to do, what to do?,” you may be thinking scrolling through the news, through Facebook, and through text messages with loved ones. In America, we seem to give ourselves an overly high sense of responsibility, like we personally need to save the world. It has never worked that way, but the belief persists.

At the same time, in Buffalo, we have snow, cold, and ice.

The simple things do matter. Go shovel out your neighbors’ sidewalk. See if they are doing OK. See if your loved ones are alright. Talk to strangers. Not necessarily about All This, but in general. Trust is like trees: takes a long time to grow. The best time to start was years ago, the second best is now. Stay in touch with people. You see your neighbor out on their porch, yes, even in winter. Go say hi. Who needs help in your immediate circle? Go keep someone company.

Creating stronger bonds among us will help protect us. A sense of togetherness, we-are-in-it-together fights the inherent othering required to get consent to disappear some of us. Movies have spent years telling us that protecting ourselves from tyranny needs to be flashy. Simple things are needed first. Staying connected. Paying attention. Prioritizing care. Refusing to look away.

Buffalo is the City of Good Neighbors. Buffalo has never been the City of Perfect Neighbors and now is not the time to cultivate that expectation. Anne Lamott says, “Expectations are resentments waiting to happen.” We only get people who are flawed to share the city with. The sooner we can accept that, the better. Be patient with each other, but not with the unacceptable.

There’s never been a bad time to have a finely tuned moral compass. It’s a particularly good time now. We will do the best we can with what we have. What we have, is each other.