Sitting here in a complimentary suite in Cincinnati, I think back to the week past: two days of class, two days of snow, one day off just because I am that cool, and no more Chief. While the Chief may get the big headlines, and the snow is the story of the winter, people have yet to tell the most important story. Through all the snow and through the many difficulties it caused, the inherent goodness of people managed to shine through.

To wit: during the snow last Tuesday, most everyone got stuck driving, walking, or simply being outside. After spending the morning traveling down an unplowed road to pick up some posters, I received a call from a friend. He had driven to IMPE and upon returning to his apartment, he had found his building’s covered parking garage impassable! I faithfully volunteered some of my street space to take care of his car, only to get it stuck on my relatively well-traveled street. After several minutes of trying to rock the car free, I tried to dig it out with my oversized sand shovel to no avail. To my surprise, two of my neighbors (whom I had never met before) left their apartments, offered their labor and full-size snow shovels, and together we liberated my friend’s car, my neighbor’s car and my car over the next one and one half hours.

As the storm showed, in particularly poignant times, society bonds, collectively mourns and picks up the pieces together. On a tragic national scale, 9/11 exemplified people’s compassion for others and the societal phenomenon of the U.S. to overcome ideological divides and unite in the name of “togetherness.” Under no circumstances does a snowstorm compare to 9/11 in tragedy, but people’s reaction to crisis remains unchanged.

While during disasters the unknown neighbor brings shovels and labor, on a daily basis friends and acquaintances provide insight into varying aspects of the world. I took part of my snow day to reflect on the ways my friends and family have helped me. In times of need, we find out who our true friends are. Those who show up, eagerly and without needing a second request, are the best of friends. They, like my neighbors, make sacrifices small and large solely for their brethren’s benefit. Of equal importance is the fact that our best allies open our eyes to new aspects of life, whether it be a unique activity, a new band, or a different viewpoint.

On this premise, I write this column not only for Troy, Jennifer, Tom, and the nameless guy who donated a half hour of hard digging, but for all the people who help out at various times of our lives. Too often we focus on the specific issues of life and the ways in which we differ that we neglect our commonalities. One of the only positive aspects of inhospitable conditions is that they manifest the most positive side of human nature.

Whether it be a uniquely American phenomenon or, more likely, a characteristic fundamental to human nature, people work together to help those afflicted by disaster. In his speech upon receiving the Nobel Prize for Literature, American author William Faulkner contended, “I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance.” No one has expressed it better, so I will not try. What I add to Faulkner’s statement is that when the snow falls heaviest, compassion and altruism radiate the most warmth.

With all the bitter political debate, factionalism and the socioeconomic division of America, we need to take solace that beneath our varying values and beliefs, most of us are still human.

Most of us have Faulkner’s spirit, even if we only experience it occasionally.