Good news/bad news

This is no joke.  Good news used to be a cause of celebration.  Too often, today, it conjures up worry and concern as we sophisticates "know" it must be "too good to be true."  Sometimes, actually, it really is just plain good news.  We need to learn better how to appreciate our blessings, our progress.

Last week, several stories illustrated the point. 

In Canada, researchers reported on a study that showed that the rate of coronary heart disease incidence is decreasing.  The authors -- and the media -- played the story that CHD increased by 10.5% from 1994-1995 -- while leaving unreported that the population of Canada increased by 12.5% over the same time span.  Good news/bad news. 

Also last week, the British Medical Journal reported that over the past 20 years, CHD in the UK has fallen 61% in men and 56% in women.  Celebrate?  No, the authors -- and the media -- emphasized that the rate of decline seems to be slowing, a cause for concern.

North Atlantic polemicist Brendan O'Neill, writing in Spiked, pointed out just-released U.S. Census data showing that within a decade Americans over 65 will outnumber those ages 5 and under for the first time in history.  He makes my same point: why not celebrate that more of us are living longer (and better) rather than complain about the "burden" of golden-agers?

It may be hard sometimes to see that "every cloud has a sliver lining," but we certainly can do a better job in appreciating what we have and the progress we have made in so many ways.  Every cloud is not a nimbus cloud.  The bad news is that we're losing our ability to appreciate good news.  That's no joke.