The Bad News Blues...

Guess I've got an axe to grind with the News services. Having battled serious depression for 3 years, I had to take a break from watching, reading or listening to the news. Why is it they mainly report the most awful stuff?

This morning's "uplifting" news included:

Death of an officer and his dog, wounding of a second officer- the man who shot them was killed by police hours later.
Shooting/abduction/assault at Colorado highschool, in which a group of hostage teenage girls were sexually assaulted- one 16 year old shot was in the head and killed as she tried to flee her captor.
An update on a boy who survived being savagely ripped from his mother's womb in 1995.
An update on the death toll and terrorist activities in Iraq

I suppose the public has a right to know what's going on. However, I'm a very tender-hearted mother and these stories just rip me apart! Every time I hear of someone dying, my heart grieves... that person was somebody's baby. I have cried so many tears over stories like these. I hold my daughters closer today- guess it could happen anywhere. I remember the day a gunman made his way into my children's school just 2 years ago. My oldest 2 children were huddled under desks in dark classrooms for 2 hours until police were able to talk the enraged Meth dealer out of the building without doing any harm. Meanwhile, I was blissfully unaware that anything was wrong as I went through my housekeeping routine at home. When I learned what happened, it was traumatic for me. We had done everything to try and create a safe, quiet life for our kids. I felt so nauseaus I couldn't eat for a couple of days and I was left feeling even more despondant.
What kind of people do these horrible things?!? How do human beings, designed to enjoy tenderness and healthy relationships turn so cold and selfish against other human beings?? How could any grown man look at a sweet, tender 16 year old, find pleasure in assaulting her in front of her friends, then shoot her dead, before killing himself? Are these people Devil possessed? I couldn't sleep for weeks after the Andrea Yates story broke. These stories are very disturbing and I don't mean to ruin your day with all this, just sharing my thoughts here.

Even in churches, you tend to hear the worst news discussed from the pulpit and over lunch with much speculation about the end of the world. Shouldn't we focus on the Good News?
I KNOW there's great stuff happening out there- why do we seem to feed on the bad stuff? Is it because we've become so hardened that only extremely disturbing news sells these days? Or because bad news really does occur more now than ever before and the acts are so horrendous that they overshadow any good that exists?

Good news is that in many areas teen pregnancy rates are dropping as are HIV infections. Abortion rates are going down and adoptions are going up. Medical science is making awesome discoveries everyday. Things are looking up in New Orleans. Gas prices are going down. There are still a lot of genuine people out there with a heart for helping others. Good things still happen! That's what I must force myself to focus on- or I would probably plunge right back into depression...

I have always said that if I were rich enough, I would seriously consider starting my own News Company that features the positive aspects of culture and humanity. I want to believe there is good in all people and that happiness is still possible...