Dear Ann Landers,
am writing about something that happened in our town not long ago. A woman was killed in her own home by her husband. The woman had neighbors who heard her scream for help, but they chose not to become involved. This will haunt them forever, knowing they might have saved her life and instead did nothing. I have been in a similar situation. I was out in the street one night, trying to get away from my abusive husband. He had knocked me down and was pounding my head into the pavement. I was screaming for help, but no one came. After he left me alone, a woman came out of her house and said she "hoped we had resolved our problems." Fortunately, I survived, and through Al-Anon, counseling and good friends, I finally got my life together. I know others who, like me, needed to be rescued but weren't because people "didn't want to get involved." People need to help one another. Even if they call 911 and it turns out to be a false alarm, so what? You never know when you might be saving a life.

Dear Santa Barbara,
There are times when MYOB is the best policy, but when someone is screaming for help is not one of those times. The next letter says it far better than anything I could come up with: