On Thanksgiving, find the 'beautiful world' in the news

Thanksgiving is the day for remembering human virtues, which certainly find their way into the news alongside the hardships and horrors.

We live in a harsh world. Cyclones sweep away thousands of lives in impoverished nations. Spatting state leaders huff and feud in a dangerous game of chicken as "doomsday" approaches for tens of thousands who rely on public transportation. Mothers disappear and children are brutally attacked by their fathers. Even our diversions are tainted: Baseball's most prolific slugger faces felony charges, and the Bulls and the Bears play more like calves and -- sorry, baseball fans -- cubs.

The Desideradist sums it up in commercial terms. "The world is full of trickery," Max Ehrmann says. But then he adds, importantly, "But do not let this blind you to what virtue there is. Many people strive for high ideals, and everywhere there is heroism."

Thanksgiving is the day for remembering such virtues, which certainly find their way into the news alongside the hardships and horrors. To wit, from just the suburbs in just the past week:

More than 750 suburbanites attend a Jewish temple in Long Grove for a program hosted by two Christian denominations celebrating the annual Northwest Suburban Interfaith Council Thanksgiving Service. Adults and children of many faiths join in songs of praise, cheer a life-size, multi-ethnic puppet show and listen as ministers and rabbis inspire them with messages of brotherhood and hope.

Friends prepare a benefit Saturday for the family of a Crystal Lake man killed in a motorcycle accident. Childhood pal Brian Hansen says 36-year-old Lloyd Thomas lived his life giving to others as a youth counselor at Maryville Academy in Des Plaines. He hopes to honor Thomas by raising $100,000 to set up a trust fund for the education of Thomas' triplet 4-year-old daughters.

A goodwill effort started by a few Abbott Laboratories employees in Lake County turns into a relationship between the company and local Marines leading to shipments of sun block, snacks, comic books -- and letters of thanks -- to soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Elk Grove High School students prepare 1,000 goody bags for a campaign to get people to sign no-smoking pledges as part of the annual Great American Smokeout.

When Glenview law student Isra Bhatty, who does telephone translations for detainees at Guantanamo Bay, hears she has been named a Rhodes scholar, one of her first acts is a moment of prayer. "Lots of people work so hard for different things, but achieving the goal is a special blessing from God," says her mother Shaheen Bhatty

Volunteers abound throughout the suburbs. They include the young, like Naperville North High School junior Etienne Demarteau who has logged more than 170 hours helping out at the DuPage Children's Museum and the veterans, like Mary Ellen Durbin, of Lisle, logging her 25th year working with impoverished people in DuPage County. You can read about volunteers from your community in today's Neighbor section.

The list goes on. Hundreds of people come to the rescue of 41 horses injured in an October traffic accident. … A Schaumburg college student turns an image from a dream into an ad campaign that earns him and two fellow Northern Illinois University students a $15,000 first-place prize in a national competition … Youngsters lead a procession in Palatine to carry bags of baby items to a community women's counseling center …

Ehrmann closes his Desiderata noting that "With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world." It is. Although tragedy and sadness sometimes dominate the unfolding universe in your local newspaper, it's a good day to remember that hope and celebration also have an important and consistent place there.