Opinion

J. Basil Dannebohm www.dannebohm.com

During the pandemic, actor John Krasinski created a YouTube series entitled, “Some Good News.” From his living room, the actor famous for his role on The Office shared uplifting stories showcasing humanity’s good side. Unfortunately, once life got back to normal again, the series went by the wayside. For many, its short-lived presence was a welcomed change. It provided hope during a very dark time. According to the ratings, however, the majority of people didn’t seem to care all that much about positive news.

I once had a television network executive tell me, “Positive news pieces are ratings suicide. Even on a slow day, people don’t want to feel all warm and fuzzy. They change the channel. Why do you think there are so many crime shows on during primetime?”

Though I hadn’t really given it much thought, it makes sense. Until the early 2000s, evening sitcoms dominated the airwaves. In the 1990s, NBC had a Thursday night lineup of comedies they marketed as “Must See TV.” ABC had a Friday night lineup of family friendly comedies they marketed as “TGIF.” When evening sitcoms went largely by the wayside, families who gathered around the television soon found themselves bombarded with crime stories, dramas, and reality television. These, combined with a 24-hour news media that thrives in negativity and constant access to information at our fingertips, resulted in a society that is plagued with despondency.

Not too long ago, I wrote a post on social media that read: “Alright, so what’s everybody angry about today?” To my surprise the post, intended in sarcasm, started getting replies. People were actually posting their grievances. It wasn’t just a few people, either. Lots of people had a lot of things angering them. Realizing that I had opened a can of worms, I decided it was best to simply delete the post. Perhaps it was naiveté that caused me to believe people would read the post and immediately detect the sarcastic tone in which it was intended. In hindsight, I should have recognized that social media is a notorious dumpster fire of negativity where humor goes to die.

Negativity should not be taken so lightly. It has become the latest pandemic. It’s a sickness. Laughter and general positivity, on the other hand, can be beneficial to one’s health. According to the Mayo Clinic, laughter enhances the intake of oxygen-rich air, stimulates the heart, lungs and muscles, and increases endorphins that are released by the brain. Laughter can relieve stress, soothe tension, relieve pain, increase personal satisfaction, improve one’s mood, and aid in muscle relaxation. Positive thoughts release neuropeptides that help fight stress and potentially other, more serious illnesses. By contrast, negative thoughts manifest into neurochemical changes that can further increase stress and decrease immunity.

It’s not that we should foolishly pretend that all is right with the world. As the Reverend Bernice King noted, “Being truthful about the state of our nation and world does not equal losing hope. Hope sees truth and still believes in better. That which dismisses or does not seek truth, but merely grins and says ‘It will be okay,’ is naiveté, not hope.”

Regarding hope, Senator Cory Booker keenly observed, “Hope confronts. It does not ignore pain, agony, or injustice. It is not a saccharine optimism that refuses to see, face, or grapple with the wretchedness of reality. You can’t have hope without despair, because hope is a response. Hope is the active conviction that despair will never have the last word.”

The only way we can begin to cure the pandemic of negativity is to inoculate ourselves with hope, love, laughter, and indeed, some good news. Though it was a breath of fresh air, we don’t necessarily need Krasinski’s YouTube program. We need to regard hope as a lifestyle. Watch a television program steeped in mindless humor. Seek out and share positive news with a local newspaper. Do something, no matter how small, to fight injustice. For every negative thing you encounter, make it a habit to deliberately engage in some sort of positive experience. Henry Nouwen tells us, “Hope means to keep living amid desperation and to keep humming in the darkness.”

Let your hopeful hum be especially contagious.

Without laughter, love, and some good news, hopelessness takes hold. Hence, in this age of despondency, maintaining a sense of hopeful positivity is the most powerful countercultural revolution a person can wage.

REITA ISAACS

Good evening everyone. Now that all my friends and relatives have gone back to their own homes, my home has returned to its normal routine.

This morning I answered a text asking what I was doing. Six months ago I had no idea if I would be here, so I want to share it with my friends.

What kind of Christmas for me: bare feet up on a chair, coffee in one hand and a cell phone in the other. Just had a biscuit with jalapeno jelly and a sausage link, clean house and kitche. n countertops cleared, cream cheese ready to go on my strawberry bread, and finally, waiting for Deb and Joe to bring potato soup for lunch ...

Not that it matters to most people, but for the past couple of years I had fighting pain and decreased mobility until it finally took its toll. I was due to have back surgery in a couple of weeks and that wound being four months until I returned home to continue recovery. Enough background?

You should see the newspaper articles I’ve gathered, envelopes or anything else I could grab to take notes on about what would either read about or see on sources most people don’t know or even care about. For some reason I’ve held on to these, but am ready to tackle it, maybe even next week.

This long letter has just reinforced my determination not to let important information/disinformation go unaddressed again. May everyone have a better year next year.

See you.

GARY DAMRON

We just celebrated Christmas, the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. In past articles, we’ve discussed the Messiah - the Promised One - who brings hope for change, justice, peace, and healing. We’ve seen how the contributions of Greek culture, language and philosophy - as well a world ruled by the Roman essentials of communication, transportation, and order - provided the perfect time for the Messiah to come.

Jewish religion provided the background and basic understanding of one true living God, who calls people serve and follow Him. The old Law followed by the Jews also revealed an obvious failure under the priesthood and kings. They knew, just as each of us should realize, that a Savior is needed to deliver from sin.

The Messiah’s mission is one of revealing God, redeeming humans, and reigning as king, and His story can be traced back to the Old Testament. Genesis 5:1 reads, “This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the beginning of time when God created man, He made him in the likeness of God.” But this verse marked the beginning of the fallen race of Adam, after sin in the Garden of Eden.

In the New Testament, Matthew began his gospel, “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham” (Matthew 1:1). The life of Jesus the Messiah marks a new beginning for humanity. God coming to earth in flesh is called the incarnation, and there are several purposes in this miracle. He was fully human and fully divine, showing us how our own life can be transformed.

According to the Apostle John, the baby Jesus is “the Word” [Logos of God] who “become flesh that dwelt among us” (John 1:14). The Logos is the expression of God’s will. During the creation account, God spoke nine times to express His will (Genesis chapters 1 and 2), and each time, something came into existence. As John explained, the Word Jesus was in the beginning (He was eternal), He was with God, and in fact is God (John 1:1). If we want to know God, we should get acquainted with the person Jesus.

Just a few months before Jesus was born, Zacharias the priest prophesied over his own newborn son (Luke 1:67-79). This baby, John the Baptist, would grow up and announce the coming of “the Most High” and prepared the way for the Lord. “The Sunrise from on high shall visit us”, penetrating the “darkness and shadow of death” and showing us “the way of peace”. Later an aged man in the temple named Simeon echoed the theme: Mary’s child that he held in his arms would be “’a light of revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel’” (Luke 2:32).

An angel came to Joseph in Nazareth with a message from God. “’And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins.’” Matthew went on to explain, “Now all this took place that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel,’ which translated means, ‘God with us’” (Matthew 1:21-23).

The coming of God as a baby removed the barrier between God’s eternal, infinite being - and man’s brokenness and finiteness. Jesus became human so He could fulfill our responsibility in a representative way. It is important for us to see our salvation (Luke 2:30), but more importantly, to know that it comes from God to us.

Jesus came not only to reveal God and to save us, but to serve with authority. The angel Gabriel proclaimed to Mary, “’He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and His kingdom will have no end’” (Luke 1:32-33). The Magi in Matthew 2:2 came to find a newborn king and worship. Jesus came not just with a mission, but also with the mastery to carry out a redemptive work.

Jesus told the disciples, “’All things been handed over to Me by my Father; and no one knows the son, except the Father’”. He then called on them to, “’Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest’” (Matthew 11:27-28). He later comforted the disciples with the proclamation, “’I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me’” (Luke 14:6). What the listeners did not realize at the time was that Jesus’ reign and crown would be earned by means of a cross.

Jesus told Nicodemus, “’Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God’” and later in the discussion spoke the famous verse, “’For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life’” (John 3:16). His birth can bring about our new birth.

The Babe in the manger, the Divine Son of God, comes to reveal God who loves us and is ready to deliver His creation. Jesus crosses the divide between the eternal, holy God and provides deliverance for all of us who are fallen. He offers new life in a spiritual kingdom, where we are ruled by the power, authority, and love of God.

GUEST COLUMN, Anne Mosle, Aspen Institute

The success of big campaign promises to improve the daily lives of families will come from states and communities, not the halls of Washington, D.C.

Many leaders elected this November won by saying that families will be better off in the years ahead than the years behind. Voters voiced their rejection of more of the same. In 2024 exit polling, 80 percent of voters agreed that if we want policies that work better for families, we need different kinds of leaders than we have now making these decisions. Families expect to see real progress: voters want a government working with and for them - not one stirring more polarization. Our collective call is to  find common ground and deliver solutions that respond to the concrete needs of families.