Oh, that holiday spirit...

Christmas...A day of peace on earth and goodwill toward men, according to my upbringing. I should just learn not to follow the news on religious holidays. Ignorance is bliss, right? That way, I could just imagine the world in peace, prosperity, and righteousness for a beautiful twenty four hours. Well, maybe for an hour, at least. My idealist tendencies are going to be the end of me; unthinkingly, I perused the many news sources available to me for tales of faith, and consequentially spent the day viewing examples all over the world of human cruelty, short-sightedness, and extreme iniquity.
All is calm, all is bright...I could hardly be surprised by news that today the UN headquarters in Kabul was bombed (again), nor that more American troops were killed by Iraqi insurgents. A suicide bombing today in Tel Aviv ends two months of relative calm in terrorist attacks on Israel. It was coupled with an Israeli targeted attack on a militant leader that also killed two bystanders. The silver lining to this, I am told, is that these attacks should have little effect on the peace negotiations; the peace process was at a standstill anyways, so recent events can hardly slow it further. In Iran, a woman was arrested for dancing in a government approved program for an all women audience.
Joy to the World... In China this week, 191 people are confirmed dead after a natural gas explosion. Apparently, there were no safety devices, nor adequate rescue responses. Xioyang, the nearest village to the accident, reports 90% of its population killed, including entire families. Clearly, in its rush to bolster natural gas resources, China experiences no difficulties in exploiting and laying waste to its greatest resource, its population. Though given China's history, I don't know why this continues to shock me.
Oh, holy night... It was this report, from I-465 in Indiana, right in my own backyard, that finally set me over the edge. Apparently, in the dim, early hours of Christmas day, a man did a kind act by stopping to help another man fix a flat tire on the side of the road. A short time later, both men were run over by a white SUV that fled the scene, and the good samaritan was killed. The story continues, however. Another driver saw the body in the road, pulled over, and rushed to their aid before being struck by a sports car which also fled the scene. Never has it seemed so clear to me that the potential for human kindness is far overshadowed by humanity's obvious capacity for selfishness and cruelty. I see little hope on the horizon; if there is a brighter tomorrow, I can no longer imagine it. My idealism is dead for the moment. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.