Knock! Knock!

Who’s there?

With all the talk of migrations and refugees and security concerns and all that, I’ve got to ask a personal question.

“Would you let them into your house?”

There is always a ‘them’ for if it was an ‘us’ we’d be knocking on the door.

I will not get into political wrangling or religious woes but will relate some personal experiences.

Back in the day, the census was taken by people going house-to-house knocking on the door with a clipboard of questions. Since you knew they were coming and the government said it was “OK” and they looked like ‘us’ we’d let them into our living rooms and offer them a cup of coffee while answering their questions that would now be termed personal surveillance. People selling encyclopedias and vacuum cleaners would also knock offering bargains not available at the local department store. Even people who were in traffic accidents would knock asking to use the landline phone (yes, kids, there was a time of no cell phones).

But at night the locks were latched providing safety to the family.

Neighbors and family were always welcomed into the house. Kids were brought in for birthday parties and sleepovers with no fear or anxiety. Business partners and their guest were invited to share the stores of alcohol and burn the carpet for it was what was necessary to climb the corporate ladder. Backyard barbeques welcome complete strangers to explore your sanctuary and use the facilities without question.

Some even adopted through churches or other charitable organizations strangers to become part of a family. It was a symbol of pride in our global conciseness and community compassion and personal humanity. There is probably something written in all those religious teachings about opening the door but I can’t give you chapter or verse.

There are also extended family members we welcome into our humble abodes to throw up hairballs and pee at the most inappropriate times but we love them.

There is a bit of trust that must be displayed to welcome a stranger into your personal space. It is human psychology to feel threaten by the unknown until a trusting association can be established; yet overwhelming fear and rejection only shows a cowards attempt to expand social understanding.

Remember you let these guys in and then call the exterminator.

So when ‘they’ come knocking, what will you do? Open the door with welcoming arms or turn out the lights and hide in silence until ‘they’ go away.

And next time ‘you’ might be on the other side of the door.