Bumper Stickers & A New Form Of Escapism

Even though I have not had a television for several years it can still be a challenge to avoid the bombardment of media messages that surround me. In the car and traveling the usual routes, roadways are punctuated with distracting billboards. They tout how we don't need to downsize our houses only our loans, how Iron Man III is the rage, how you will meet either the grim reaper or a judge if you drink & drive, where you can see the next cage fight or even get a colonoscopy.

Turning to the radio, current events have an interesting ratio that seems to depict the tragic over the triumphant. The heated debates over putting fluoride in drinking water, how the governor has decided to cut retirement benefits for some (because he can), and then there is the Ohio kidnapping story. Some things are good in the news, such as a few million dollars being made available to schools where the hiring of new teachers will fill in some existing gaps. It's surprising to note how reporters spin that event. It was prefaced with the fact that kids will have less free time on their hands since there will be more teachers, which will lead to better class availability. The subtext seemed negative and likely in exact conflict with a previous story about how schools don't have money for new teachers and kids are missing out.

Turning to the Internet and heading over to a popular news page to see if I could keep in touch with mainstream happenings - I became dumbfounded. With around 142 million site visitors a day in 2012, this site exposes us to some interesting headlines. Here are a few from the last few days:

Baby Goat Jumps On Pig
Hairstyles That Trim 10 Years From Your Age
Flat Abs In Five Minutes
White House Defensive Over Benghazi Memo
Maxim Hot 100 List: How Many Disney Stars Made the Top 10?

Feeling somewhat disgruntled I was motivated to enter a search term into Google: Acts of Kindness.

One of the first sites I visited was randomactsofkindness.org. It reminded me of the bumper sticker Practice Random Acts of Kindness and how sometimes those stickers lose their potency. Digging a little deeper into the website I discovered two stories that renewed my attitude about what goes on in the world - I'm not sure I'll be putting that bumper sticker on my car, but I have found a new form of "escapism" and will be visiting the site more often.

Here are two stories from the site:

The World Needs More Love Letters - Hannah Brencher

Peach's Neet Feet - Madison Steiner