I saw a Yahoo! news article today about an 8-year-old boy who was with his father.  They were out walking their dog, and found a bag with over $1,000 in it.  Guess what?  They returned the money and got a news story written about them.  The site comments were all positive and glowing and feel-good.

It seems like once a week or so I see a Good Samaritan news story, usually involving someone returning found money (this is a capitalist society, remember, so money is god).

My question: why is this news?

I understand that there’s a lot of misery in the world.  And 24-hour news channels reinforce that non-stop – gotta keep you scared, angry and paranoid, right?  So some bright spots here and there are welcome.

But news stories about minor instances of doing the right thing?  Are we that hard up for any good news?

Maybe it’s my small-town upbringing, or that I was instilled with Christian values, but these stories kind of annoy me.  Certainly not because the right thing was done, but because there’s this need to publicize the right thing.

A few years ago, I found a cash-filled wallet in my building’s parking lot.  I checked the driver’s license, made a couple of calls, and returned the wallet to a guy a few buildings down.  Did I get a reward?  No.  Did I ask for one?  Don’t be silly.

But you know what never came to mind?  “I’d better alert the press so I can let the world know I did what any decent human being would do.”

I guess my point is:  Everybody should be doing the right thing every day.  And that shouldn’t have to be national news.

And if you do the right thing and the press hounds you, just say, “Jesus loves you” and flip them off.