HOW CAN I LOVE MY NEIGHBOR?

Document expanded & Submitted by Rose Ketterer

In turbulent, unsettled times, it’s easy to feel helpless and hopeless.

How Can I Love My reminds us that we are never powerless. The list

starts with simple, private, risk-free actions and moves toward public,

even sacrificial, acts of caring for one another.

WHAT CAN I DO?

PRIVATE ACTIONS

Are you willing to:

pray for positive change?

sign a petition?

write about your values for posterity?

support businesses that have fair practices?

write to legislators?

call legislators?

contribute financial support to organizations you trust?

meet with others in support of actions which you cannot physically join?

write to prisoners of conscience?

write to someone convicted of crime?

PUBLIC ACTIONS

Are you willing to:

ask others to sign a petition?

write to newspapers or other news outlets?

visit legislators in their local offices?

visit legislators in their national offices?

WITNESS

Are you willing to:

pray in public, alone or with others?

contribute volunteer support to organizations you trust?

march in a demonstration?

carry a protest sign?

help carry a protest banner?

distribute literature?

staff a literature table?

stand in protest at a public event?

turn your back in protest at a public event?

bang pots and pans in support or protest?

dress distinctively in support or protest?

fly a flag that shows your values?

attend a protest meeting?

organize a protest meeting?

speak at a protest meeting?

participate in street theater?

ask others to financially support organizations you trust?

ACCOMPANIMENT

Are you willing to:

drive people to medical appointments or shopping?

shop with or for those who can’t shop themselves?

clean for those who need help?

pay for services for those who need help?

bring food to those who need it?

visit the lonely?

visit prisoners?

accompany a defendant to court?

accompany someone through dangerous territory?

accompany a refugee to safety?

share your home with a refugee?

CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE

Are you willing to:

join peaceful protests that have been forbidden?

pay a fine for practicing civil disobedience?

go to jail for practicing civil disobedience?

GREATER LOVE

Are you willing to risk your life to protect someone in danger?

HELP BUILD THE LIST. WHAT ELSE ARE YOU OR YOUR GROUP WILLING TO DO?

SOME RESOURCES TO HELP YOU GET STARTED

Action Center/American Friends Service Committee afsc.org/actioncenter

Effective Use of Letter Writing Campaigns and Sample Letter Templates for #SAadvocates naspa.org/blog/effective-use-of-letter-writing-campaigns-and-sample-letter-templates-for-saadvocates

“How to Beat An Election-Related Power Grab,” hosted by renowned Quaker, Civil Rights icon, and non-violent action educator George Lakey. docs.google.com/document/d/18s0kRJ9tjB9l8PPssRKBIAsQEuQQ95QQKRViJoLhsHo/edit?usp=sharing

How to Lobby Congress Virtually: A Step –by-Step Guide/Friends Committee on National Legislation. fcnl.org/resources/how-lobby-congress-virtually-step-step-guide

Marshall, Henry Burgess . February 6, 2020. How to Change the World: 101 Ideas to Leave the World a Better Place. growensemble.com/change-the-world/

Sharp, Gene. The Methods of Nonviolent Action, Boston 1973, available from War Resisters League, 339 Layfayette St. NY NY 10004 (212) 228-0450, and at mapm.org/documents/198_nonviolent_methods_2007.pdf

Twenty Lessons on Fighting Tyranny from the Twentieth Century | Scholars Strategy Network scholars.org/contribution/twenty-lessons-fighting-tyranny-twentieth

Mary Frances Berry. 2018. History teaches us to resist: how progressive movements have succeeded in challenging times. Boston: Beacon Press.

Michael Beer.2021. Civil resistance tactics in the 21st century. ICNC Press.

George Lakey. 2018. How We Win: A Guide to  Nonviolent Direct Action Campaigning, Melville House.

HOW Can I Love My Neighbor? began in a Quaker study group that met in

Haddonfield NJ in 2016. Last reviewed March 13, 2026.

-“To begin, begin.”

William Wordsworth

-“Anyone can plant a tree.”

Wangari Matthau’s Green Belt Movement planted 51 million trees

-“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”

Arthur Ashe

-“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.”

William James