Essay: Good fences can sometimes make good neighbors Donald Melville In the literal sense, good fences make good neighbors because good fences encourage mutual respect — this land is my land, this land is your land; if we can agree, then, by golly, this land was made for you and me. Mutual respect is one way of reckoning the value of fencing. If you’re not a landowner, you might not feel this way. If you’re vehemently opposed to land ownership, you definitely don’t feel this way — in which case, you’re probably against fencing, period. A fence along the Mexican-American border is one example of just how contradictory our feelings can be. From over a thousand miles away I might see the border fence as sensible and humane, while you might see the same fence as undignified and cruel. Why is that? How can a single fence be viewed both humane and inhumane?