Everyone Needs Some Good News...

By now, most have seen the YouTube videos from John Krasinski and his friends under the headline Some Good News. If you haven't, you really need to stop what you're doing and watch them, watch all four of them in a row. It will take about an hour, but it won't feel like it.

It's obvious, we--as inhabitants on a planet in crisis--need good news. We need it when it comes to the virus, we need it when it comes to jobs, to families, to our health, to everything. If you can see through the negativity, you'll find millions of people doing things for others...

And it's wonderful.

Because we all access to people, our reach can be global, or affecting only a few. Mr. Krasinski, due to his fame and talents, has tremendous reach. Sure, anyone can make and post a video on YouTube, but getting people to watch is another story. Thankfully, if you've followed popular culture for the past fifteen years, you know who John Krasinski is and because of that, if you know/like him, you'll watch Some Good News.

Impactful media makes you want to take action--good or bad. After watching the latest episode of Some Good News, a couple of things came to mind--I wanted to find more good news stories, I wanted to be someone who did good things for others, and I wished I had the kind of reach Mr. Krasinski has earned. But, the more I thought about that last point, the less it mattered. I can do what I can do--I can affect a few people (even one...) more than the masses. The important thing is doing something, anything for others.

Another point struck me, after watching these videos--that is Mr. Krasinski's motives. There's a quote from a little Hugh Grant film, The Rewrite, where a college student tells the inexperienced newly-hired college professor (Grant) that celebrities are like Greek Gods in our modern society. The student explains that celebrities are larger than life--they're literally Gods. I apologize if I'm getting the lines wrong; it's been a while since I saw the movie. Using this definition, what celebrities say or do has weight...massive weight. Because of this insane time we're in, we are inundated with the actions and words of celebrities, whether we want to see and hear them or not.

But what did Mr. Krasinski choose to do and say? He chose to be positive, to do good. I've never met Mr. Krasinski (though, it would be fun to do so...), his actions speak volumes as to the type of person he is. I'm sure he has opinions about the world situation, our leaders and what they're doing, and if he chose to voice his opinions, many would listen. But, he chose good. Good is universal, good is truth, and right now, good is desperately needed.

Thank you, Mr. Krasinski for what you're doing--for your choices--and I look forward to more.