Before World War II the front porch was the gathering place for friends and neighbors. They would gather on the porch to sing, play games or just to talk. For the adults and children alike, it was the favorite place to be after supper. Back then they were friends with their neighbors; they did not have to worry if the next door neighbor was a murderer, rapist, child predator, or drug dealer.
After World War II technology took over our lives. We began to live in a fast paced world where we did not have time to sit on our porch or to socialize with our neighbors, thus the decline of the front porch. This allowed the criminal to move into our neighborhoods. We do not even know the name of most of our neighbors, we do not have time to stop and say hi let alone gather to talk, sing or play games.
Lately there has been a yearning to go back to simpler times, when life was simpler, when we knew our next door neighbor. In recent years we have seen the return of the front porch but we still do not have the time to sit and gather with our neighbors.
So what would happen if we actually took the time to sit on our porch and get to know the people next door? Maybe this would help bring our neighborhoods back to the safe place they used to be. Maybe it would deter the murderer, the rapist, the child predator or the drug dealer from moving next door.
We need to take back our neighborhoods so that our children are safe. Maybe the answer is so simple that we have overlooked it. Maybe it is as simple as the return of the front porch. But it will not do any good to just build a porch we will have to actually use it.
One way to implement the use of the front porch is to invite your neighbors over for a pot luck barbecue. There are many activities you will be able to come up with that everyone would enjoy.
So why do not we turn off the televisions, get off the internet and take the time to gather on the front porch, get to know our neighbors and bring back the safe haven our neighborhoods should be.
Would not it be wonderful if it's just as simple as making our front porch a gathering place.