Three videos, three thoughts

The first three videos on The New York Times Web site have some relationship to faith and values. The first is about Dutch Harbor and a pastor's attempt to make the defunct bar The Elbow Room into a shelter for people on hard times in the Unalaska fishing community. The other is about a guard's actions on the night the Berlin Wall fell 20 years ago. Finally, the last video of interest is about Fort Hood Muslims reacting to the news that fellow worshiper Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan's killed 13 people on the Army base Thursday.
I'm going to let my mind hang on to the first two videos more than the last. That's because in both cases, people are motivated to do something righteous — to reach out to others and do good. Plus, I remember the feeling, albeit a fleeting one, when the Wall came down. It was a sense that everything was going to be all right, that good had finally prevailed over evil, that subjugated people were going to taste freedom. It's heartening to think back about that time because let's face it, reading or watching the news these days is downright demoralizing — spiking unemployment, two political parties hellbent sliming each other, brave people in Iran and Myanmar getting squashed by ruthless leaders, soldiers gunned down in the place they should feel most secure. Yeah, I think 1989 sounds like a good time to have a daydream.