It’s a question I’ve been carrying lately. Whispering to myself in quiet moments, wrestling with it when the world feels particularly harsh.
What do we owe each other?
Not just as neighbors, colleagues, or citizens. But as humans. As people trying to survive—and hopefully, to thrive—on a planet that is burning, in systems that are breaking, during a time that demands more of us than ever before.
There’s an easy answer we’ve been taught: nothing. We are individuals. We make our choices. We pull ourselves up. We mind our business. We stay in our lanes. That’s the dominant culture’s way of answering the question. But it’s a lie—a dangerous one.
Because the truth is, we are bound.
We are relational beings, created through connection.
And whether we acknowledge it or not, we owe each other everything.
We owe each other grace.
In a world that punishes mistakes and commodifies perfection, grace is radical. It is the choice to believe in someone’s wholeness, even when they falter.
We owe each other curiosity.
Not the kind that reduces people to categories or spectacle, but the kind that leans in—
Tell me who you are, what you carry, what dreams keep you awake at night.
We owe each other space.
Space to breathe. To be imperfect. To evolve without surveillance or ridicule. To grow into the fullness of our identities and our purpose.
We owe each other protection.
Especially when harm is being done. Especially when our silence becomes complicity. Especially when speaking up costs something.
And maybe most of all, we owe each other hope.
Not empty optimism, but the hard-earned belief that a different way is possible—and the commitment to act in alignment with that belief.
We don’t need to agree on everything to show up for each other. We don’t need to be perfect to deserve care. But we do need to reimagine what community looks like. What accountability rooted in love looks like. What solidarity—not charity—looks like.
Because without each other, we are lost.
So I return to the question, over and over: What do we owe each other?
And my answer, today, is this:
We owe each other everything we were told to withhold.
Presence. Kindness. Truth. Repair. Love.
Not because we’ve earned it.
But because we belong to each other.
“We are each other’s harvest; we are each other’s business; we are each other’s magnitude and bond.”
— Gwendolyn Brooks