Everyday Heroes are Headline News

Murder! Theft! Crime!

Accident! Disaster! Violence!

Aside from moving to a mountaintop or living in a hole in the ground, there is no avoiding the glaring intrusion and the instantaneous distribution of bad news. It screams from the radio, television, and newspaper headlines. I am in no way diminishing the importance of these events. So many millions have been touched personally by tragedies around the world and it would be callous of me to right-off the headlines as sensationalism. News is important and people care. That is why the headlines make the front page. People want to know. However, there is a side effect of all these tragic headlines.

It was just over 100 years ago that news and mail began traveling by steam locomotive and steamship. This meant a voyage of weeks across the ocean. Prior to that it was months. News had no other quick method of diffusion. Unlike today, it took months for news to percolate through to the uninformed masses. For thousands of years news was a precious commodity, hoarded by those who had the money and power to obtain it. Insults to nations or individuals did not provoke retaliation or war until several months after the occurrence. News did not provoke instantaneous reactions in billions of people as a headline item on CNN would today.

The pervasive and invasive nature of the world's bad news—via instant news bulletins and amber alerts flashing on the TV screen, news programs on the radio and TV every hour 24 x 7 x 365, horror headlines leaping at us from the newsstand as we attempt a leisurely stroll to work, news feeds and tickertape headlines across the bottom of our computer monitor, and finally, via telephone—is often overwhelming. I am not sure people are prepared physically, emotionally, or mentally to hear about disasters and crime from the far corners of the world instantly—as the events unfold! We come away from our morning toast, coffee, boiled egg, and newspaper, numb or angry with a bad taste in our mouth, and a decidedly jaded view of the world before we even set foot out the door!

The effects of this instantaneous reporting of bad news are: increased worry, an overwhelming feeling of helplessness, and a general heightening of stress in an already stressful world. In the worst cases, as a reaction to the flood of bad news and shocking headlines, a self-preservation mechanism kicks in and we shut down, our senses are numbed, producing apathy and a lack of caring for our neighbors. Now, more than ever before, we need to care. We are all neighbors on this suddenly tiny world! We need to look after one another and view our neighbors as friends in need, just as we would hope they would view us when we are in a time of need.

I began to wonder what I could do to stem the flow of bad news, and in my own state of defeatist apathy, I initially came to the conclusion that there was nothing I could do. However, I was approaching the problem from the wrong angle. Bad things happen—earthquakes, tsunami, tornadoes, and violent crime. I cannot directly stop all of these things from happening, but that does not mean I cannot make a difference. Ironically, the very media I mention above gives me the power to make a difference.

Instead of blocking out the news headlines I decided to create my own good headlines by searching for the shinning gems of pure human nature I know exist in all of these horrible news stories—find the good side of the story and report only that. This may be a one-sided method of reporting, but I am not concerned. Isn't that what we see everyday in the news? Don't we see only those items that are the most shocking, the most newsworthy? That's how the news media works. That's how the news networks make money. Reporters look inside a story for the most bizarre, shocking, outlandish, juicy, and outrageous tidbits to sell to the public in order to attract attention and a larger audience. Unfortunately, it works.

I am not denying the existence of the desire for news in millions of people who would miss their daily quota of vicarious violence and shock therapy should the news suddenly stop coming. But what about the good news? What about the heroes behind the scenes in all of the horror stories we hear. Who gives them recognition? Who praises their compassion. Who learns from their example? That is the purpose of this site. That is how I have chosen to battle the onslaught of bad news headlines. Behind every headline in the paper is a hero's story that should be made front page news.

Helpful Heroes is a place where these stories will be made into headlines. Send me your stories and I will do my best to find the heroes within and make sure the world knows there are such heroes in everyday life.