Carrol Vertrees: Do good works and reap rewards

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Carrol Vertrees

Updated: January 12, 2012 8:07AM

A woman hit other Black Friday shoppers with pepper spray so they would get out of her way.

A man collapsed with what turned out to be a fatal heart attack, and a couple of early morning shoppers stepped over him without even slowing down.

A woman put morphine in her grandmother’s chili.

Stabbings, shootings, cruelty to babies, on and on, our incivility shows up in the news.

And the sad stories about sexual abuse at Penn State and Syracuse.

Critics of the papers and television say, “Too much bad news!”

Most of us don’t do such bad things, which probably is why we complain about the bad news we see and hear about so much.

The good news about the bad news is that the bad news stuff still is unusual, which is partly why it gets such emphasis. Some of it is graphically ugly, almost unbelievable, but it is reality.

There is a lot of good news, too, but it is not sensational — the bell ringers, churches and other groups helping the poor, acts of kindness that touch us. Those are the acts that hold us together. We still expect to hear about people helping people, and that is a good sign.

Are we involved in this good news syndrome, or are we just spectators and critics of what the papers print and what TV tells about human behavior?

A fellow I met recently says he and his wife adopted four children — all with the same mother but different fathers. They wanted to be foster parents, and their quest led to the adoptions. They knew that the children might have problems because of their background.

“We are all here for a purpose, and some of us find our purpose late in life,” he said. I was touched by his philosophy.

I am lucky to know that fellow. His attitude reminded me that we all should try to make a difference, wherever we are. There is an old hymn called “Brighten the Corner Where You Are.” I thought of that as we talked.

We all can do that if we look and if we care enough. Doing that, I reckon, is more important and rewarding than complaining about reading and hearing too much negative news. We are not required, and nobody else will know if we fail or don’t even try. But, of course, we will know. Even if we, like my new friend, find our purpose and act on it, we won’t be in the news. It doesn’t matter. We are never too old to learn, a fact that hits me often.

Fred Niedner, a theology professor at Valparaiso University, offered some solid theology and common sense in a recent column about good news, so plain that I could understand it.

He wrote: “Periodically, we need reminders that goodness happens daily, most everywhere, though it seldom becomes news.”

He is right, and we can participate in some of that goodness, because it can come in small packages. If we all have a purpose, it may be in unheralded acts of kindness and love.

I lift a quote he cited from George Eliot: “The growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts … ”

I thank Niedner and my new friend, both showing me that I am not too old to re-examine my theology of life. It is a gift I need this Christmas season. It fits, and I will keep it.