It's a Wonderful World (Jan 31, 2014)

3 Good Things That Happened This Week Around the World

Don't watch too much of the news. You will quickly become depressed. Regardless of your political perspective your side is always on the verge of loosing. Calamity abounds. People are killed. Fortunes are lost. War is just around the corner. All news is bad news.

In his book "What is Wrong with the World," G.K. Chesterton discusses the problem with only focusing on the evils of the world. 

  The only way to discuss the social evil is to get at once to the social ideal. We can all see the national madness; but what is national sanity? I have called this book "What Is Wrong with the World?" and the upshot of the title can be easily and clearly stated. What is wrong is that we do not ask what is right.

And there are a lot of things that are right with the world. Each Friday I will post 3 good things that happened in the world during the week, big and small along with links to articles about them. You may have heard of some of them already. Others might have gotten lost in the noise of all the bad news we are accustomed to hearing.

Take a moment to let the cares of impending war and financial meltdown fade away. Refocus on what is good in the world, following the advice of Paul the Messenger of Christ, "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." (Phil 4:8)

1. Toilets.  Diarrhea is the number one killer worldwide. The two big ways to bring it down are clean drinking water and proper sanitation. UNICEF reported this week that 2 billion people have gained access to toilets since 1990.  As a result of this and other factors, child mortality in developing countries continues to fall. We're winning the war, one toilet at a time.

2. Snow. People came together across the ice covered south to help those stranded by the crippling storm. People provided food, shelter, and assistance to complete strangers. Businesses across the south such as a Chick-fil-a franchise near Birmingham also joined in to feed motorists stranded on the highway at no charge. One doctor even traveled six miles by foot to perform a life saving surgery. It turns out that there really are good people in the world. And even flawed people often do great things for others when the need arises.

3. Peanuts. For some people, exposure to peanuts can be life-threatening due to an extreme allergy to the protein in peanuts. This week, researchers in the UK announced that peanut allergies have successfully been treated with small doses of peanuts. Who would have thought? After six months of peanut therapy, 85% of participants were able to consume 5 peanuts without a reaction. Please note, this study was done under intense medical supervision. Don't try this at home!