Is There More Than Tragedy?

I am a student at the University of Santa Cruz and was given an assignment as a part of my Community Studies class to
write a letter to the editor of a newspaper regarding community activism. One would think that finding an article concerning the subject would be a simple task, yet I scoured countless newspapers with no success. The petty information which I did find were mere blurbs that did little to spark any emotional interest. I was struck by the fact that newspapers country wide focused so heavily on issues like “The War On Terror” and the tragedy at Virginia Tech. I do not mean to undermine the importance of these events, however the American reader needs a little hope in the midst of the world’s tragedies. Apparently stories of heroic activism don’t make headlines like good old fashioned tragedy. It is distressing to realize that news papers devote entire sections to business, sports, food and dinning, entertainment, and the weather, yet it is near impossible to find an article addressing positive citizen action. I am afraid that the American people only concern themselves with flashy images of horrific crimes, natural disasters, political lime light, and entertainment. Citizens are so encompassed around these in-your-face images that they have lost touch with simple and genuine actions of charity and good will.