Good people will show more of their good in these tough times: more empathy, more generosity, more accountability. Evil people will show more of their evil in these tough times: more narcissism, more irresponsibility, more greed.
Good companies will show more of their good in these tough times: More protection of their employees to the utmost of their abilities, more service to their customers in novel ways, more use of their facilities for common and community benefit. Bad companies will show more of their bad in these tough times: More uncaring for the literal and emotional safety of their employee culture, more disregard for being relevant to their customers unless they are trying to sell them something, more refusal to use their resources to give and give back rather than to always take.
Good government officials will show more of their good in these tough times: More recognition that the first purpose of leadership is to serve your true constituency or your leadership is fundamentally corrupt, more emphasis on the safety of their constituency as the priority, more modeling and messages of hope, truth and appeal to our better angels. Bad government officials will show more of their bad in these tough times: More partisan divide, more inflammatory rhetoric that passes for and distracts from substantive solutions; more concern about their own careers and donors than the welfare of their citizens.
The only question is whether there are more good people than bad people. This was decided long before this current crisis descended upon us. I believe, with my heart and to my soul, that there are a lot more good people, and that they populate communities and organizations that are extraordinarily capable of doing good things in these tough times.
Otherwise nothing will ever make sense in our world, even when this crisis passes.
Our energy should be focused on confirming that we’re on the side of the angels, not wondering what the devils are up to. They play poker with the face card pasted smack on their foreheads – it’s easy to tell what they’re up to, and easy to forecast their motives and plans. But we’re playing at our own table, not theirs.
ADD YOUR OWN PROOF
What actions of people and organizations have just reinforced your belief that there is enough good out there to smack down, stop, thwart, ignore, interrupt, screw mightily with, and ultimately triumph over the bad? They can be mainstream or obscure; global or known only to you; profound or bizarre; your own actions or the actions of others. Share them here and keep ‘em coming. View ListAdd to itMORE GOOD
CNN Hero Linda Myers spent decades providing a lifeline to Navajo elders before the pandemic hit. As Covid-19 is claiming lives at an alarming rate, she is racing to help the most vulnerable and prepare for the upcoming winter.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/30/us/navajo-nation-coronavirus-elders-cnnheroes/index.html
Post by Mikki Laurel from SLAP.
George Ahearn, who grew up in the farming town of Othello, Washington, co-founded EastWest Food Rescue after learning that Covid-19 was costing local farmers so much business that they were willing to destroy their crops.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/01/us/washington-food-convoys-help-farmers-food-banks-trnd/index.html
Post by Mikki Laurel from SLAP.
When Arun Krishnamurthy was a teenager, he witnessed a pond near his home in Chennai, India, fill up with trash. Now he runs the Environmentalist Foundation of India, which restores lakes and ponds, clearing out waste and bringing back wildlife.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/12/asia/environmentalist-india-lakes-c2e-scn-spc-intl/index.html
Post by Mikki Laurel from SLAP.
A smog-cleaning mural using special paints in Warsaw by local artists was organized by Converse as part of their City-Forests campaign.
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/artists-erect-mural-in-warsaw-that-eats-smog/
Post by Rikki Kiefer from SLAP.
Inventor Nnaemeka Ikegwuonu created ColdHubs, 100% solar-powered cold storage rooms for keeping produce and fish fresh in Nigerian markets.
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/nigerian-entrepreneur-invents-solar-powered-refrigerators/
Post by Rikki Kiefer from SLAP.
In Lodi, California, Officer Erika Urrea saved a man in a wheelchair from being hit by an approaching train. Watch the video.
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/police-pulls-man-in-wheelchair-stuck-on-lodi-railroad-tracks/
Post by Rikki Kiefer from SLAP.
Joseph Beer, 15, has spent lockdown in the town of Chatteris, Cambridgeshire, England, cleaning up road signs and hedges.
Post by Rikki Kiefer from SLAP.
Brides Across America, a non-profit that donates wedding gowns to military and first responder brides, are now donating to frontline healthcare workers.
Post by ANGELE BAZA from SLAP.
Good samaritan Kenia Barragan raised $84k for a 94-year-old tamale vendor who worked in a wheelchair after meeting him and hearing his story.
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/woman-raises-84k-for-street-vendor-selling-tamales/
Post by ANTHONY BEAR from SLAP.
The Washington state nonprofit EastWest Food Rescue delivers truckloads of food that would be thrown out to food banks in western cities like Seattle.
Post by ANTHONY BEAR from SLAP.
A hero teacher in England spent every day preparing food for his 85 students who were home in quarantine— and delivered 7,500 packed lunches.
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/uk-teacher-delivered-7500-packed-lunches-to-pupils-during-lockdown/
Post by ANTHONY BEAR from SLAP.
While on holiday in India, Colin and Carol Hanson befriended a boy living in poverty, helping his family with rent, schooling and food, which cemented a bond.
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/english-family-saves-boy-from-life-selling-peanuts-in-poverty/
Post by ANTHONY BEAR from SLAP.
The homeless will not need to return to rough sleeping in Oxford, now that the pandemic has given governments the chance to provide rooms and understanding.
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/homeless-in-oxford-wont-need-to-go-back-to-sleeping-outside/
Post by ANTHONY BEAR from SLAP.
Anchorage, Alaska, a city known for its cold climate is warming hearts by housing its homeless in private homes during the coronavirus crisis.
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/us-charitable-donors-gave-record-amount-in-first-half-of-2020/
Post by ANTHONY BEAR from SLAP.
Growing Change turns abandoned prisons into sustainable farms to give work to at-risk youth and wounded veterans in North Carolina.
Post by ANGELE BAZA from SLAP.
Shamarr Allen, a jazz trumpet player from New Orleans is offering kids a chance to trade their guns for trumpets, in hopes it will reduce gun violence.
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/new-orleans-musician-is-taking-guns-in-trade-for-trumpet/
Post by ANGELE BAZA from SLAP.
Lia Rubel’s mission in Vermont is to collect old smartphones and tablets to donate to Vermont patients in need.
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/ruined-summer-plans-turned-into-way-to-help-isolating-seniors/
Post by ANGELE BAZA from SLAP.
Walrmart and Tribeca Film Festival have partnered to host the free Walmart Drive-in tour featuring host Drew Barrymore in 160 US locations.
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/from-pizza-to-fresh-veggies-people-in-the-bronx-will-feed-you/
Post by ANGELE BAZA from SLAP.
To keep students learning during pandemic, Philadelphia will connect 35,000 student households with two years of free high-speed internet.
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/free-internet-coming-for-35000-low-income-philly-families/
Post by ANGELE BAZA from SLAP.
Lillian Kay Petersen won a quarter million bucks and top prize at the Regeneron Science Talent Search 2020 for a tool to predict crop yields.
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/regeneron-science-talent-search-2020-winner/
Post by ANGELE BAZA from SLAP.
When Cassi Radcliff heard her 4-year-old yell 'Black Lives Matter' at a woman in the store, she wasn't expecting such a friendship to bloom.
Post by ANGELE BAZA from SLAP.
Elementary student Mathias Brinda's inspiring BLM sign unwittingly traveled to the Minneapolis protests then back to his Lake Country School.
Post by ANGELE BAZA from SLAP.
Do you remember when the aisles of grocery stores were emptied of toilet paper and other staples at the beginning of the pandemic? Nurse Stacy Mason recalls seeing her fellow healthcare workers finishing up long shifts caring for the sick in ICU, only to find the sundries they needed for their families–like diapers and sanitary […]
Post by ANGELE BAZA from SLAP.
Drexell & Honeybee’s in Brewton, Alabama serves the usual Southern dishes, but with no prices—just a box where people can pay what they can.
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/alabama-restaurant-has-no-prices-and-feeds-anyone/
Post by ANGELE from SLAP.
Zach Regan and Matty Johnson were camping on Vancouver Island when they found a lost dog stuck in a sea cliff cave.
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/surfers-save-dog-from-sea-cave-after-missing-for-3-months/
Post by ANGELE from SLAP.
