CATEGORY: Good vs. Evil
I had an old friend named Marie LaPorte, who died just shy of her ninetieth bithday a few years ago. Marie was one of the pure souls I've met in my life, a relentlessly positive person, who never encountered a situation that couldn't be improved by a little humor. At the restaurant where Marie used to have breakfast every morning, they used to save a page from an old newspaper for her. Then while all her friends buried their heads in their morning papers, she read hers. Due to a printer's error, the page was blank. "It's the only paper that's not filled with bad news," Marie said, as she returned it to the proprietor for safekeeping every day.
I spent the morning trolling through about ten newspapers on-line in search of five pieces of good news to share; and I'm beginning to think Marie was right. If the battle between Good and Evil is being waged in newspaper headlines, then Good's in big trouble. All I could come up with was three pieces to share.
1. The Live 8 concert, was reported world wide. Though a few cynics tried to knock it for various reasons, most praised it for raising both money and awareness about poverty in Africa, and providing some great entertainment in the process.
2. The city of Portland, Oregon has had successfully and dramatically reduced carbon emissions while booming economically proving once and for all that good environmental policies and a strong economy are not mutually exclusive.
3. The Toronto Globe and Mail has a great multi-media piece called AIDS in Africa: A Turning Point. (I couldn't figure out how to link it directly, but if you go to the website, you should be able to find it.) It doesn't whitewash the tragedy of AIDs in the sub-Sahara; in fact it asks you to take an up close and personal look at its face, but it's full of hope. And hope, wherever you find it, is the best kind of news there is.
The scarcity of good news has left me feeling pretty depressed so if anyone has any to share or a positive link to post, I'd love to hear from you. Meanwhile, the next time I go searching for good news, maybe I'll try my friend Laura's bathroom wall.
2 comments:
Like this alot. Maybe you should do this every week. Read my Sun.post when you have a chance; it's positive.
It's amazing how depressing the quest for good news can get, but I might try it again next week and see how it goes.
Post a Comment