Searching For The Good

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During a recent GOP debate Senator Marco Rubio stated, "When I'm president of the United States we are getting rid of Obamacare..."

During a Feb. 7 interview on ABC's "This Week," host George Stephanopoulos asked Trump whether he "would authorize torture." Trump responded: "I would absolutely authorize something beyond waterboarding."

Subject: Manny Pacquiao during the opening ceremony of the NCAA Season 87 at the Araneta Coliseum on July 2, 2011 | Date: 07/02/11 |
Photographer: Inboundpass | This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. |

Manny Pacquiao, the eight time world boxing champion, recently said. “Do you see animals mating with the same sex? Animals are better because they can distinguish male from female. If men mate with men and women mate with women they are worse than animals.”

It seems like people are not only more hateful & cruel, but they're more open about it.  One candidate is advocate the torture of suspects.  Another is broadcasting the fact that he wants to take health care away from 17 million Americans. A sports star is publicly quoting the Bible verse Leviticus 20:13, which says that gays should be put to death.

It would be easy to think of this as a mean world.  Yet, while the are mean selfish shallow people in it, a closer look will often reveal a world of kindness, compassion, and generosity.

Real estate moguls, Jordan Menashe, and his father, Barry Menashe, donated part of the second floor of a building they own to be used as a homeless shelter in downtown Portland.

Instead of buying a boat, Marty Burbank, an attorney and Navy veteran, has made a pledge to 26 kindergarten students to fund each student's tuition for two years at community college and two years at a California state school, at an estimated price tag of $1,000,000.

Rich people aren't the only ones making the world a better place either.  62.8 million Americans volunteered 7.9 billion hours of their time last year.  On a personal note, my physical disability makes me dependent on the goodness of truly wonderful people every day.

It's easy to focus on the evil in the world.  We see it, we're shocked by it, and it makes an indelible mark on our psyches.  The good IS out there though, we simply need to pay attention enough to see it.