There’s a segment on the NBC’s “The Tonight Show” called, “I’ve Got Good News and Good News.” Basically, Jimmy Fallon asks news anchors all across America to read bogus news headlines and make them seem real. Viewers know the headlines are fake due to one mitigating factor – the news is positive. Too-good-to-be-true positive.
I’ll be honest, I don’t typically stay up late enough to catch the show live. I do set it to record on our DVR. It entertains me while tackling the mountains of laundry I fold every week. I happen to think this segment is a riot and secretly I hope there was more REAL good news in our world.
Our country just survived one of the nastiest election cycles I can recall in my 39 years. The news coverage was ugly on both sides of the proverbial “aisle.” From the debates, to the commercials to the general atmosphere of news coverage – it gave me head and heartache. In my fifth grader’s social studies class, they studied the term, mudslinging. I reassured her, yes, dear daughter, there’s been a lot of “mudslinging” in this election.
When I went to the polls to cast my vote on Tuesday, Nov. 8 (early voting doesn’t feel nearly as patriotic to me), I waited in line for over an hour just to participate. The anger and anxiety felt in line at the polls was like nothing I’ve ever experienced. I wondered why more people didn’t realize that real change begins with us. In our homes and on our farms. In our communities, churches and schools. No one can make the world a better place more quickly than us – you know, “We the People.”
Nov. 8 has come and gone. I personally, breathed a sigh of relief as it came to its end. I looked forward to days of holiday shopping commercials taking the place of all the political mumbo jumbo on TV. Even with the passing of the election, the news is still not good. Whether or not people were happy with the choices made for their local, state or national government officials – social media and the major news networks have continued to unleash a whole lot of hostility. It’s over folks, time to stop talking and start doing. Each one of us has unique gifts to contribute to the world – I want to use mine to serve others.
As some American families prepare to celebrate the Christmas season, I love to think about the greatest news story to every hit the skies. Believe it or not, this news was first distributed to a group of farmers – a rough crowd of stinky shepherds to be exact. The gospel of Luke reveals to us –But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid! For behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: Today in the City of David a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord! And this will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”
You may not walk out to feed your livestock this December and find an infant in a swaddling blanket waiting to change the world as we know it. Look carefully in the mirror and you will see a person with special qualities and an ability to make this world a greater place to live in. We have nothing to fear from our government, remember, these folks are supposed to be working for us. Use your talents and bring a little good news into your community. Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year to you and yours, neighbor.
