Merriam-Webster chose “justice” as the word of the year for 2018. That word was searched more through their website Merriam-Webster.com than any other in that year, with an increase of 74% from the previous year’s searches.

While that may be an interesting fact for many, it should not come as a surprise to most. The world throughout 2018 was rife with news, debates, and conflicts focused on justice in many forms – racial, social, criminal, economic, etc. Global issues, political strife, and references to justice through news topics such the Mueller investigation and Kavanaugh hearings contribute to the word searches for justice, especially in the U.S.

A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to see Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, a documentary film about Fred Rogers. Through most of the film, I was misty-eyed and by the end I was sobbing. The tears flowed with a sharp twinge of nostalgia as I remembered the songs, characters, and messages of the Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood show that imprinted my childhood. The tears also streamed from an unexpressed sadness that I and others have been carrying for some time — a sadness that we are losing this kind of “neighborliness”, losing this sort of kindness from our society.