So why the optimism? Why this idea that we can be better than we are in the face of so much hate and violence? Because as large as our capacity for doing bad is, our capacity for doing good is even greater. Two recent items that I saw on TV got me thinking about this. One was a news story about a mechanic that had to take a back seat out of a car. He found a very valuable engagement ring that had been lost under the seat for some years. He could have pocketed the ring, and no one would have been the wiser. But instead, he did the right thing. He turned the ring in, and it made its way back to the woman who lost it. The other item was from a Jeopardy! contestant. She had adopted a young boy, an orphan, from an African country. The big deal was that she found out his three sisters are also available for adoption, and she plans to adopt them as well. She is going to reunite a family of siblings. Many folks wouldn't have adopted the first child, much less all four.
There are big things and small things that folks do all the time that shows that acts of kindness matter. Whether it is paying for the coffee of the person behind you in the drive-thru lane or volunteering at your local food pantry, people all over do the right thing. The vast majority of people do these things just because it is the right thing to do. There are no accolades coming there way. There is no recognition of a job well done. They are simply living the way that we should all be living.
We can't stop hate. We can't stop violence. But we can do the big and little things that make a difference. If enough of us do those big and little things, then we can move towards elminating the hate and violence. We can show that we are redeemable.