Image Credit: Olivier Morin / Getty Images
My Nan always complains that there isn’t enough good news being broadcast around the world. Yes, it may be more crucial for us to learn of the suffering of faraway countries, the ramifications of terrorism and the crimes committed on our own soil, but sometimes we just want to know when a train has pulled into the station on schedule, or all the times a kitten has ever sneezed. She longs for a world in which we’d read news posts that prevented us from staring wide-eyed into the ether for just a few seconds, helping us to forget that we’re all slowly whirling into the abyss, edging ever closer towards the inevitable heat death of the universe in a blaze of drone strikes, bigotry and religious fanaticism.
There is also the argument that my Nan’s old as shit, and as a result she has no real idea how to produce content that would be in the public interest, let alone manage the news stories covered by digital outlets. She probably thinks that CPM is a heart condition, and that clickbait is something you use to lure in fish. She wouldn’t be trusted with running a media company, basically, because as we all know tiring and constant negativity is what drives in those page views.
However, there’s a lot to be said for refusing to scroll through your Twitter feed, staring at the endless stream of terrible things currently happening in the world, and instead choosing to focus on the positive. With that being said here’s our Uplifting News Round-up for the week, focusing upon all
A woman and her dog saved from the Louisiana flood
The Louisiana flood has been called the worst US disaster since Hurricane Sandy, with thousands of people having lost their homes and worldly possessions and at least 13 people having died. However, as we so often see in times of crisis, those in the state have been helping one another through this incredibly difficult time, epitomized by this video of three Baton Rouge men helping save the life of a woman and her dog.
As reported by WAFB Channel 9, the men appeared next to the woman’s sinking car on a boat, with one of them slashing open its vinyl roof in order to rescue her. As she was being saved, she cried out for the man to help her dog, with him once again diving below the water in order to retrieve it.
The man, later identified as David Phung, received widespread praise among those who have watched the video, with it having been viewed over 3 million times since being posted online earlier this week. Fine work, Mr. Phung.
New Zealand and American runners embrace the Olympic spirit
Image Credit: Ian Walton / Getty Images
The Olympics are all about athletes from the far-flung edges of the world coming together in order to show off how good they are at a series of weird sports, from handball through to that event where horses are tasked with dancing for no discernible reason. The general theme of the competition has always been that even though the politicians of these countries may want to bomb each other to death, in the end we’re all human and bleed the same blood etc. This was exemplified quite literally during the Women’s 5000m in Rio, during which US runner Abbey D’Agostino and New Zealand runner Nikki Hamblin crashed into one another on the track.
The incident saw both D’agostino and Hamblin fall to the ground, with D’agostino helping Hamblin back onto her feet in order to carry on with the race.
However, after moving forward a few more steps D’agostino started to feel an injury in her right leg. This prompted Hamblin to return the favor, with her turning back and helping console her fallen rival.
Speaking after the race about their mutual acts of kindness, Hamblin said: “When I look back on Rio 2016, I’m not going to remember where I finished, I’m not going to remember my time … but I’ll always remember that moment.
“Sometimes I guess you have to remember trying to be a good human being is more than, you know. If I hadn’t waited for her or tried to help her I would have been 10 or fifteen seconds quicker and what does that matter?”
80-year-old man with Alzheimer’s sings with his son
80-year-old Ted McDermott suffers with Alzheimer’s, a neurological disease that affects many functions of the brain, most prominently memory and recall. Ted’s son Simon discovered that singing helped improve his memory, so set up a YouTube channel titled ‘The Songaminute Man’ in order to share these heartwarming clips of him and his father dueting, alongside helping to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society.
In Simon’s JustGiving page, he writes: “The more Alzheimer’s kicked in, the more Dad became violent – both physically and verbally – it was incredibly difficult to manage. And terrifying at times.
“Alzheimer’s Society provide a telephone helpline to sufferers and their families. I cannot begin to describe how a stranger’s voice at the end of the phoneline helped when things got really bad.
“Dad was a singer throughout his life – he was a Butlin’s Redcoat and then travelled around singing in clubs around the country. He worked in a factory when he got married and did the occasional bit of singing on side. His nickname is The Songaminute Man – simply because of how many songs he knows.
“In the last few years his memory has deteriorated a lot – often not recognising me as his son. Its a horrible illness.
“However, now when we’ve got him singing again he’s back in the room. It’s these moments that we treasure.”
You can donate to Simon’s cause right here.
