This past week the Seattle Times published a guest editorial by Diane Douglas the Executive Director of the Seattle CityClub, headlined, “Seattleites Stop Ignoring Your Neighbors.” The CityClub says it goal is to provide “a space to talk about the issues that impact our lives. Dialogue that is passionately nonpartisan. Connections to leaders and local government. Tools and inspiration to make a difference.” In order to “bridge politics, professions and generations” the organization sponsored a survey to measure Seattle’s Civic Health.

According to Douglas, the report found that Seattle lacks social cohesion. Page 10 of the report quantifies what some have called the “Seattle Freeze” this way:

We rank 48th of 51 comparable communities in the frequency of neighbors talking with neighbors and 37th in neighbors exchanging favors with one another frequently. How can we strengthen greater Seattle’s vibrant civic infrastructure so that everyone is included and the community reaps the benefits of their civic agency?

Douglas suggests that the “Freeze” effect is a real thing, not in your imagination. People really are odd here when it comes to social interaction and engagement. But her editorial and the report go on to say that it actually is a serious problem, making it harder in Seattle to solve some of our serious civic problems. I agree. And that’s true when it comes to housing too, when it becomes acceptable not just to avoid neighbors but call them and where they live names.

Here’s what Douglas suggests as a solution:

Imagine if we could keep the 12th Man spirit going and deepen it to extend to everyone, to other issues, all year round. Imagine if we could hold on to this civic spirit as if it were the force that would catapult us to the next championship. What we’re playing for is not just the Super Bowl championship, but the high stakes championship of our regional prosperity.

True. I think the 12^th Man connection is a pretty powerful one, but how about one that is even deeper. Many Episcopal and Roman Catholic Churches had a series of relevant readings this past Sunday including from Leviticus stating what is often called the Golden Rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Regardless of religious bent or no bent at all, the Golden Rule is one of those inherently sensible normative statements that almost everyone can embrace. If we all treated each other the way we prefer to be treated, the argument goes, most of the world’s great problems would solve themselves.

Whether it’s the 12^th Man Spirit or the Golden Rule, Seattle would benefit from a more welcoming atmosphere toward new people and different housing types. So often the discourse gets riddled with references like the one made by Representative Gerry Pollet calling some people’s homes “monstrosities” or Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant saying that living in microhousing is “not humane.” Some people have even blocked buses full of people trying to get to work because they are “yuppies” who are driving up housing prices.

Our elected officials should lead the way by talking about including all the options for Seattle’s housing future. And, in the end, these are neighbors we’re talking about. Buildings matter, but aren’t the people inside them what counts? Calling people’s homes names really isn’t going to get us very far toward finding the 12th Man Spirit or the following the Golden Rule.

And if cohesion helps solve our big problems like creating more housing choices, shouldn’t we love our neighbor’s home as much as our own? What would happen to our housing debate if we talked about making room for new people and jobs rather than fretting over “height, bulk, and scale?” What if we celebrated and welcomed all the new people moving to our region with crazed enthusiasm like we welcomed back the Seahawks?