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Perchance to Dream

Positive thinking can change a person’s life. Maybe positive media programming can change a world.
children looking optimistic, S Chavez, a thought for the day, Positive thinking can change a person’s life. Maybe positive media programming can change a world.

The horrible fire that occurred in April of 2019 at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris has been on my mind lately. However, it’s not in a depressing way so much as introspective.


Unable to broadcast a reason for the cause of the blaze, the news coverage focused mainly on the people present and their reactions to the fire, especially on the onlookers who gathered together to pray and sing. Media networks shared French President Macron’s speech with his vow to rebuild their beloved Notre Dame as a country united. They aired the good news of the priceless and irreplaceable artifacts, artwork, and relics that were able to be saved.


Because of that positive coverage, the world as a whole rallied behind our European neighbors and the outpour of support was nearly unprecedented. Over one billion dollars has been donated to bring back one of the most recognized monuments in the entire western world. With that fact in my head, I mused about how perspective is everything.


Here in America, criminals, terrorists, and other people who would seek harm are given exactly what they seek – attention. Our 21st century society has become so programmed by the media, television, the internet, and other “legitimate” news sources, we are now no more than rabid dogs in search of the next new scandal, dirty laundry, and horrifying story. With very few exceptions, we are not shown that good still exists.


It made me wonder what could happen to our civilization, in a tragedy, if we concentrated on what people did to help each other. Rather than plastering the criminals names and faces all over monitors, focusing on the blow-by-blow coverage of their trials, what if those trials took place behind closed doors and we merely announced the consequences of their criminal actions after their sentencing, never publicly revealing their name or face?


Our society has become accustomed to being programmed, there’s no denying it, but why not take advantage of that weakness and turn it into a strength? If we focused on the humanity of our civilization rather than the depraved natures of the criminals, how could our world change? Notre Dame was a very good example of what could be. Could we make what happened there a norm?


Positive thinking can change a person’s life. Maybe positive programming can change a world.


- S Chavez

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A Thought for the Day © 2021 by Steve Chavez

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