Good News

The fact that violence is newsworthy suggests the opposite. Good news is not remarked on precisely because there is so much of it. – The Dalai Lama

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Not all political conservatives are extremists. From David Frum’s blog FrumForum, March 21, 2010.

The good news: here is a conservative who does not demonize the opposition and looks to cooperation in service to the common good. Also, his prescience about the dynamics that seeded today’s political climate.

“We followed the most radical voices in the party and the movement, and they led us to abject and irreversible defeat.“

“When Rush Limbaugh said that he wanted President Obama to fail, he was intelligently explaining his own interests. What he omitted to say – but what is equally true – is that he also wants Republicans to fail. If Republicans succeed – if they govern successfully in office and negotiate attractive compromises out of office – Rush’s listeners get less angry. And if they are less angry, they listen to the radio less, and hear fewer ads for Sleepnumber beds.

“So today’s defeat for free-market economics and Republican values is a huge win for the conservative entertainment industry. Their listeners and viewers will now be even more enraged, even more frustrated, even more disappointed in everybody except the responsibility-free talkers on television and radio. For them, it’s mission accomplished. For the cause they purport to represent, it’s Waterloo all right: ours.“

[hiddenleavengoodnews]

In India, Hindu and Muslim men make a meal to heal the religious divide

In Ahmedabad, an Indian city noted for its religious violence, one slum has managed to find common ground between Hindus and Muslims. On religious holidays, men of both faiths gather together to prepare the food.

“Whenever there are any troubles, all of us try to solve the problem and nobody asks who’s Hindu and who’s Muslim.” – Somabhai Makwana, a Hindu community leader.