As I write this, in the third week of July, the rand has been appreciating against major currencies – to everyone’s surprise. Someone somewhere is buying rands. ‘Why?’ asked the flummoxed experts on the investment channel I was watching last night. Eventually, the consensus they reached seemed to be that foreigners were cashing in on our high interest rates and preparing for upcoming takeovers.
Those ‘foreigners’ again...

Why do they have more faith in our country’s future than we do ourselves? Could it be that most of what we’re fed by our media is bad news? Could it be that the kind of fear expressed on our letters page this month is partly a product of the relentless horror portrayed in our newspapers?

Yes, terrible things happen. There’s lots of misery and lots to fix. Yes, there are corrupt and evil people out there. But, my goodness, there’s good news too. And there are extraordinary heroes in our midst.

The media did a brilliant job in calling South Africans to action after the incidents of xenophobia, but the outpouring of human kindness and empathy for our fellow human beings was not deemed to need the front-page space given to the brutality that precipitated it.

I’m not suggesting for a moment that our newspapers should be ‘dumbed down’. We need our journalists to highlight the wrongs, but why don’t they celebrate the ‘rights’ with the same fanfare? Who will give us heroes if not the media? For the most part, the people they reflect back at us are the corrupt, the mad and the bad. Where’s the balance?

We certainly do need to know about the corruption and crime in our midst, but how about giving the same amount of space we give to the crooks to championing those civil servants who are doing an excellent job? How about more stories of selfless bravery and goodness?
You can’t tell me there aren’t any. But it will require effort to find them. It will take as much bravery and hard work as tracking bad-news stories, and will garner fewer awards. But what a great read our newspapers would become; what a good experience keeping ourselves informed will become.

I have noticed a definite attempt in a particular tabloid-sized daily to achieve a more positively weighted equilibrium, but there is still a way to go before we get it right. In the absence of a balanced emphasis in your favourite newspaper, sign up for the weekly newsletter from www.sagoodnews.co.za. It’s the other side of the coin: just good news. I was sceptical when an old friend sent me a newsletter suggesting I join, but believe me: it’s a marvellous antidote.

Oh, and while you’re logged on, go to www.new7wonders.com to nominate natural sites of wonder in Africa. At the time I visited, South Africa had only three nominations: the Cape of Good Hope, Table Mountain and the Kruger National Park... Just thinking about all the sites that deserve a nod is good for the soul. Don’t forget to use your seven votes and spam your friends to do the same. Come on – we’re not going to let Ayres Rock win, are we?