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This morning a nice, patient employee helped me with my cell phone learning curve. Towards the end of my tutorial, he let out a long sigh which I could completely understand, but it wasn't directed at me. "Who needs to start the day blasted by front pages which are filled with horror and tragedy? Why not lay in some good news, too?"
My sentiments exactly! Yes, as concerned human beings and active citizens, we must be informed. But what about a "good news" section of the paper, devoted to ordinary people doing extraordinary things? There is so much goodness, compassion, and kindness. So many people are working for human and planetary betterment. Surely this is newsworthy.
What about exemplary teachers who start after-school clubs for no pay? What about the physician who pays for his clients' treatment until they land on their feet? What about the physician who took his patient to physical therapy on a Saturday so that she would feel comfortable when she began treatment on Monday? Forget his movies and who he's dating, what about George Clooney's trip to Sudan? Why did he go, what's going on there, what comes next? I'd like to read a lot about botanical gardens and community vegetable plots. Surely successful programs in handling bullying in schools should make front page headlines to attract others towards proven solutions. Feature the man teaching tennis to the disadvantaged for free and for love of the game. Tell me about the environmental work being done by non-profit organizations. Showcase some of the times that one good deed fostered another. Report on the successes of a school for troubled youth. Show me people who overcome adversity with persistence and grace. Tell the stories of the triumph of forgiveness and nonviolence, highlighting the consequences.
A few years ago I was undone by a local news program which showed a woman dying, literally dying then and there, on the broadcast. Walking away fast, I called the station and asked if anyone would have aired their own friend or family in similar circumstances. I asked if they had considered that someone who knew the deceased might be watching. The only response was condescending and dismissive: "We show what people want to see."
I didn't believe it then. I don't believe it now. I want to see the woman with cerebral palsy walking her first mile in fifty years as a seventieth birthday present to herself. Show me every step in slow motion. Positivity and negativity are contagious. They are both out there. What do you want to catch?
