We highlight the positive news, too
The media often are criticized for focusing on the negative instead of the positive. And many times that criticism is warranted.
Many times it can't be helped, for example, as we enter a new week waiting for Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to do the right thing and resign. Certainly, the daily stories of the sour economy can put a damper on anyone's day.
But we do strive for those positive stories as well - the ones that can give a respite from the bad and the ugly and remind us there is good in the world as well.
In fact, we didn't have to search very far for those kinds of stories. One was on the front page of the Daily Herald's sports section on Sunday. One is on today's front page.
One is a story of simple kindness. The other a story of great inspiration. Both deserve highlighting.
The Chicago Blackhawks are a young, up-and-coming team. We write plenty of the ups and downs of a long season. And, even in the sports pages, negative stories can get greater play than positive.
But how refreshing it was to read sports writer Tim Sassone's story Sunday about a team that wanted to do right by its boss. And how that act - to attend, by surprise, the Ontario wake of GM Dale Tallon's father after a game in Toronto - brought some joy to a family dealing with grief.
"My mother ... it was so great for her. She was having such a hard time with it, we all were. But to see that (the team walk in), it was so heartwarming and it really took the edge off everything," Tallon said.
In today's paper is the story of Kendall Ciesemier, a 16-year-old Wheaton North sophomore. Two liver transplants, another liver surgery and, now, cancer all are part of Kendall's story. We could be - and, in fact, are - inspired by how she's dealt with those struggles. But it's not the health issues she and her family want highlighted.
The real inspiration comes in her efforts to help children in Africa who are affected by AIDS. She started a charity at age 11 by donating $360 of her own money. She surpassed the original goal to raise $60,000 and set a new goal of $1 million. Bill Clinton and Oprah Winfrey got involved and Kids Caring 4 Kids is going strong.
"It was a huge blessing to Kendall to be the kid making a difference to other kids rather than being the sick one," her mother said.
"When you are in extreme pain," Kendall said, referring to her health issues, "you think, 'There are people in more extreme circumstances.
"We really are changing kids' lives. We are building orphanages and water wells," Kendall said. "These kids are just like the kids here. They play, laugh and smile - just like us."
We aren't all like Kendall, but we should strive to be. Hers is a story of selflessness in a time when selfishness sometimes gets highlighted more. We're happy to showcase Kendall, to remind people, that even under the worst personal circumstances, they can act to make the world a better place.