News travels fast. Bad news travels faster.
Years ago, news would be presented in 30 minute chunks at 5pm and 10pm. Today it is pumped out 24 hours a day by anyone who has a phone in their pocket. It’s relentless and exhausting.
A quick look at our screen gives us a glimpse into the bad things that celebrities, politicians and fellow citizens are doing. Faced with this torrential onslaught of negativity, it’s easy to descend into the “what is WRONG with people” way of thinking.
But I would argue that most people are good.
How does something break through the noise to become a headline?
It breaks through because it stands out. News is newsworthy specifically because it’s not typical. It’s not normal. It’s outside the realm of what usually happens.
Most planes don’t crash, so a plane crashing is rare and newsworthy.
Most people aren’t corrupt, so corrupt people are shocking.
Most schoolchildren aren’t violent, so violent kids make headlines.
The news focuses on things that don’t happen every day. It’s not a view into humanity as a whole, but rather a view into the most remarkable parts of humanity.
Some people do bad things, but most people are good.
We each have our own unique combination of virtue and vice, but most people try to avoid pain to ourselves and to others. Most of us worry about our parents, our children and our neighbors. We generally follow basic traffic rules, say thank you to people who provide us with services, and want the best for those that we love.
As stated by Psychology Today, “We’re a complicated species–both moral and immoral as our environment and physiology dictate. But, mostly the moral dominates.”
We hold open the elevator door on Monday and quickly push the close button on Tuesday, but most of us aren’t downright evil.
Most people are good.
I encourage you to walk into the world with an open mind and open heart.
Be cautious, but kind.
Approach every encounter knowing that you don’t know the whole story.
Be compassionate.
Offer grace.
Be a better version of you today than you were yesterday…and if you fail…try again tomorrow.
And while you are fighting your own battles, remember that other people are fighting theirs as well. We don’t know what we don’t know.
And as you scroll through your news feed and think to yourself, “What’s WRONG with people?” I encourage you to pause, take a deep breath, and remember all that is RIGHT with people.
Photo by Rémi Walle on Unsplash