by george chavez

Created on: June 30, 2008   Last Updated: July 02, 2008

Take a moment and think about the strangers you talk to everyday.

Telephone operators are strangers. So are bank tellers. So are policemen. People who wait on you in restaurants, ticket takers, cashiers, repairmen, nurses, mailmen, etc.

It is necessary to talk to strangers. Of course there is some trepidation involved but how is it possible to exist in a civilized world if we are afraid or unable to talk to strangers? It would be unfortunate indeed if the reason people do not talk to strangers is fear. Certainly there is danger lurking out there but there always has been. Perhaps shyness is involved. Perhaps isolation or some type of phobia. The excuses or reasons for not talking to strangers sound unhealthy.

If you really think about it we communicate many many times a day with strangers. It would certainly be a challenge not to talk to strangers. It would be interesting as a test to count how many times in a 24 hour period we talk to strangers out of necessity. How many times in one week? How many times do we talk to strangers in one year?

When we were children it was drilled into us not to talk to strangers. This is a valid reason. Children should not talk to strangers. This is to protect the innocent from harm. But should adults follow the same rule? This is a good question. And the answer is no. For the majority of meetings between strangers the exchange of communication is beneficial to one or both parties. It is reassuring to know that the person you approach is not the boogeyman but someone who wil usually help you, or might help you. They might even ignore you but nothing is lost and much can be gained.

Perhaps many think that due to technological changes the need to talk to strangers has dwindled. Perhaps it has. But not much. The number of strangers a person talks to has changed very little from the number of strangers your grandfather had to talk to. There are some arguments that state we talk to strangers more now-a-days.

Imagine a world with no one talking to strangers. It would be a silent world. Civilization would suffer. Besides that it would seem a cold impersonal way to exist. It was important to talk to strangers in the past. It is important to talk to strangers now. And it will be important to talk to strangers in the future.

There is of course one caveat. It is necessary to use good judgment when talking to strangers. Not because you fear that person but because you should use common sense. Obviously avoid negative situations but do not let the very minimal risk to you compel you to not talk with strangers.

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