The Flâneur's Turtle

BY: Paul Gaszak, English Faculty

In the wake of the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut, people are once again looking around at what appears to be an overwhelming amount of bad in the world and questioning what is the world coming to. And why not? 2012 has been a tough year. There has been everything from manmade horrors in Newtown and Aurora, Colorado to natural disasters like Hurricane Sandy. Even on a personal level, I look around me and see so much tragedy and loss that my beloved work family at RMU has dealt with in 2012.

But, even with all of these negatives weighing on us as individuals and as a nation, we need to remember that there is a lot of good in world. It’s hard to do (especially for someone as naturally pessimistic as I am), but we need to try.

Yesterday, The College of Liberal Arts hosted an open conversation in the Chicago Learning Commons about healing from last week’s tragic events at Sandy Hook Elementary. The event was facilitated by Scott Harms Rose, Ph.D. of The Institute for Clinical Social Work at Robert Morris Center. Of the many topics discussed, one was the positive side of humanity. In the face of the unimaginable horror that took place at Sandy Hook, look at all the stories that are coming out about the courageousness and selflessness of people inside the Elementary school. And look at the innumerable positive responses from our nation as a whole. People are reaching out to help those directly affected by the tragedy, and we are all looking harder for ways to love and help those around us.

Today on ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike in the Morning, Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic had a running discussion throughout the show in reaction to the Associated Press Top 10 Sports Stories of 2012. The top four stories on the list are all negative, particularly the number one story: Jerry Sandusky and Penn State. In response, Mike & Mike decided to spend a portion of the show taking suggestions from listeners on the top feel-good sports stories of the year. Like with regular news coverage, the worst stories in the world of sports are the ones that get the most airtime, which sometimes makes it easy to overlook just how many wonderful stories of camaraderie, humanity, triumph, and perseverance exist in sports.

I would never suggest we ignore the bad, sweep it under the rug, and hope we can forget it’s there. That certainly wouldn’t be healthy. Plus, there are always steps we can take to try to prevent and heal the bad. But, at the same time, let’s not sweep the good under the rug, either.

Happy Holidays to everyone, and let’s see to it that 2013 is way better than 2012.