Do you have any positive, uplifting news stories to share?
Asked by
Pingu (
692
)
January 4th, 2013
Usually, and especially recently, the news of the world has a way of making me feel depressed. Stories of cruelty, suffering, and decay rain down upon us daily. They can weigh one down like a sack of bricks placed on the chest.
Have you recently read or learned of anything positive happening in the world? Do you have a happy or lighthearted story to share? Help me out of my awareness-induced funk.
I’ll start with my own example of something I read in a recent edition of The Economist. Bringing to a close a political scandal in Brazil, the supreme court found 25 out of 38 defendents guilty of charges including corruption, money-laundering and misuse of public funds, and many of those convicted received stiff sentences and large fines. In a country where the well-connected and well-endowed are rarely called upon to answer for their crimes, this is a huge step forward in establishing judicial precedent.
Observing members:
0
Composing members:
0
13 Answers
A friend posted on FB yesterday that she was at the gas station, and while she was tanking up, a lady saw the man next to her crying at the pump. She asked him why he was crying, and he said, “It’s all too much – I can’t provide for my family any more.” His wife and two teenage daughters were in the pickup, and they were all in shabby, layered clothes. This kind woman put her credit card in the machine, made sure he filled his tank to the brim, made sure they had warm cappuccinos and healthy meals from the gas station, and was about to get in her car when she remember what she had in her trunk. She had just come back from a cross-country trip, but on the return flight, the air carrier had lost her luggage, so she had had to buy an entirely new wardrobe. She had taken this opportunity to get rid of the old things in her closet, and was on her way to donate them to the Salvation Army! She called the woman and the two girls over to her car, and they each got to take several items, all warm, well-fitting, and stylish.
The sad thing is… With in a few minutes of my friend posting this, about 5 or 6 people commented on it and said it was the same as a chain email from years ago. It didn’t actually happen, they said. And then the lady who had done it commented and said, “No, it actually happened. I was blessed to be in the right place at the right time.”
It’s amazing that we’re so cynical that we automatically assume things like this just don’t happen any more.
@RandomGirl it does help to remember that there are many people in the world who are so giving.
@SavoirFaire I bet that 229th guy read that story and now feels like a dick.
Coloma lets the cold Centipedes that find they way into her house stay until noon when the temps. are thawing out from our 25 degree nights. I then let them go on the big rug under my washer and dryer in the garage where the toads winter over.
I also bake blackberry cobblers and share them with the raccoons.
Someone should write a story about my wildlife fetish. lol
@augustlan this past September, a professor at my college submitted this letter to the university president regarding the presence of a Chick-fil-A restaurant on campus. (I’m sure you remember the homophobic idiocies publicly pronounced by Chick-fil-A’s corporate leadership last summer.) It was signed by over half of the professors in the department. I get the warm fuzzies every time I read it :)
@SABOTEUR “Kindness creates kindness.” Best philosophy ever!
I saw a show on tv about new advances in robotics for paralyzed people and amputees. Forgot what show it was but you can see a short video here
That made me feel so happy! it’s truly amazing and even if it has a long ways to go before its able to be adopted and used by the average person who needs it, it is just one more example of how far science has come.
The latest news story that made me happy was this new law set in place to prevent cabbies in New York from cooperating with sex traffickers.
Answer this question 
Composing members:
0
