We think that reporters tend to focus on what's wrong, from a sorry view of the world to a disturbing close-up of community problems.
We do. That's news and if we didn't cover it, someone would shout "cover-up!"We also try to write about the brighter things: the heroes, the successes, the clever and entertaining people and events around us.
A lot of times, those things get overlooked. The images that linger and haunt are tiny, innocent lives snatched away in Oklahoma City, devastation in a subway tunnel in Japan, the corruption of a man who leads a huge national charity.
Sometimes, it's just nice to look at what's going right. Maybe these images will fade too fast, but they're nice to embrace right now:
- Last week, more than 300 youths gathered at the Salt Lake City/County building to kick off National Youth Service Day. Locally, they cleaned up roadsides, recycled aluminum, did yard work and reached out in personal ways to meet people's needs.
Yes, some kids belong to gangs. Drive-by shootings, once unheard of, are painfully common.
But most kids don't. They teach others to read, serve as "Best Buddies" to people with mental retardation, shovel walks for senior citizens, raise funds for the homeless.
- The Office of Recovery Services was lauded for improvements last week when a legislative audit panel met. Auditors told lawmakers that the ORS, charged with collecting child support as well as recovering state funds improperly paid out in programs like welfare and Medicaid, is correcting problems.
They've improved training and procedures. And they have more changes in the works.
Now, if only "deadbeat" noncustodial parents would just accept - and meet - their obligations to their children. We could whack welfare rolls, improve living standards for children and reduce the burden on taxpayers.
- More than 350 volunteers spent a joyous day Saturday rehabbing the homes of the elderly and poor.
Some got new roofs. Lots got yard work and paint jobs. A few furnaces and water heaters were replaced. Plumbing was repaired, grab bars were put over tubs, smoke alarms were wired into ceilings.
At one home, an 81-year-old widow looked at the fresh coat of yellow paint, the trimmed trees and mowed lawn and started to tear up.
"It's just like Christmas," she said in wonder.
Christmas in April, that is. This was Utah's first try at the program, which had 120,000 volunteers working on 4,000 homes nationwide.
The really phenomenal part? The organization and generosity. Companies donated materials and services, from paint to trash bins to collect garbage and food to keep the workers going. Everything was in place, so volunteers just had to show up that morning.
Professional contractors, carpenters or painters did "house captain" duty, so quality assurance was built in.
One company, Home Depot, even held training seminars so that unskilled volunteers could learn to do jobs right.
It's dangerous to start naming companies or individuals. It took too many to make it work, and it's unfair to leave some out. But a few stood out: Zions Securities Corp. tackled many of the organizing chores and provided skilled crew directors. Because of Cellular One, help was only a free phone call away. 3M provided all of the paint brushes. And the list goes on.
Nonprofits, corporations and service groups made up the bulk of the volunteer force.
It was a massive undertaking, beautifully rendered. Next year it should be even bigger.
- Thousand of Utah students gathered for a life skills conference, pledging to be drug free and productive. It was sponsored by Utah Federation for Youth.
All the good news is part of what columnist and book author Richard Louv refers to as the "culture of renewal." People are working, singly and in groups, to reweave the web we call society.