The story of the teens that pushed a car 7 km down an Ontario highway to help a stranger resonates strongly with me as a good news story, perhaps more than others.
Why would this be? Is it because pushing a car down the highway is an inherently selfless act, any more than offering clothes to people in need, or giving food to people that are hungry? Not necessarily.
Perhaps for me, it resonates because it shows that teenagers, and specifically North American teenagers—a demographic normally associated with being aloof, haughty, and decidedly obstinate—is capable of being heroic.
There are many teenagers out there that go above and beyond to help people. But sadly, I’ve come to expect an almost disassociated, surly, and disenchanted attitude from the youth of today. And that’s my own failing. I’m not sure when I started thinking of generous, gracious teenagers as the exception rather than the rule.
Regardless, when I see stories like this, it restores my confidence in the future of humankind. And I think there are far more stories out there similar to this one happening every minute that we just don’t see.
Maybe it falls to me to search harder for the stories that truthfully depict the youth of today as devout, courageous and brave. Obviously these stories are out there, waiting to be told. Shame on me for defaulting to assuming lesser of the youth. They deserve more respect than that.
I guess that’s why we’re here, after all.
