Losing Faith, Gaining Faith

I'm one of those fools who got up well before the crack of dawn yesterday to do my Black Friday shopping. I had a list of things that I wanted to buy, some of which were on sale for fabulous prices, but there was nothing on my list that I felt was worth killing over. Unfortunately, some shoppers at a New York Wal-Mart didn't agree with me. A store employee was knocked down and trampled by hordes of hateful shoppers. He died on that floor beneath the feet of greedy, hateful, awful specimens of humanity. Is the X-Box 360 with Guitar Hero for $199 really worth taking the life of someone over? I think not. I hope that, on Christmas morning, when the people who helped take this man's life present their precious gifts from Wal-Mart to their loved ones, that they can tell them, "Here, honey. I love you so much that I killed a man to buy this for you." Oh, and several other people also were injured in this same incident.

Two men also were gunned down in a Black Friday melee at a Toys 'R Us yesterday morning. Some reports indicate that it was due to a long-standing feud between the two, while others indicate that the deaths were due to an on-sale toy. No matter which reason, it's a miracle that no children were caught in the crossfire.

My faith in humanity is more than a little shaken by these incidents. Are we really so horribly greedy that we don't care if we kill someone over a good sale? Is the price of human life that worthless?

Luckily, I had a little of my faith in the world restored this morning when I popped open my laptop to read the day's news. Recently in Wichita, Kansas, a young girl and her mother found $7,000 in a Salvation Army. With no questions asked, they immediately turned it in and helped track down the owner. In a grocery store in Washington, a carry-out/bag boy found $10,000 in cash on the floor of the men's room during his break. Without hesitation, he turned it in -- and in the ensuing interview I watched this morning, said that the money would have been nice to have, but that his reward was in knowing that he did what was right and knowing that it'll build his character.

So, maybe...just maybe, for all of the horrible people out there in the world, there are at least a few good ones. That's what I'm telling myself because otherwise, it would be really hard for me to want to wake up and face the world each morning.