Good News Ahead!

ALL of us are saddened whenever we receive bad news of a personal nature. On the other hand, we rejoice when good news arrives-tidings of joy for ourselves or our loved ones.  But when bad news affects others  and not us, there is often an element of curiosity; some even enjoy learning about the misfortune of others.  This may partly explain why bad news sells so well!

During the early part of World War II, there was a graphic example of the morbid interest in calamity that some people have.  A 10,000-ton pocket battleship, the Graf Spee, was the pride of the German fleet in 1939.  For weeks this battleship had been causing havoc among the Allied merchant ships in the South Atlantic and Indian oceans.  Finally, three British  cruisers tracked down and attacked the Graf Spee, causing loss of life and forcing the ship  to limp into the Uruguayan harbor of Montevideo for repairs.  The Uruguayan government ordered the battleship back to sea immediately, otherwise it would be interned.  So a fierce rather one-sided battle seemed imminent.

Hearing of this, a party of wealthy businessmen in the Unites States chartered a plane, at a cost of about $2,500 a head, to fly to Uruguay to witness the gory battle.  to their disappointment, the batter never did take place.  Adolf Hitler gave orders for the Graf Spee to be scuttled.  Thousands of spectators who thronged the waterfront expecting to witness the spectacle of a fierce sea battle, saw and heard instead a deafening explosion that sent the Graf Spee to the bottom, scuttled by her own crew.  The captain committed suicide with a gunshot to his head.

Despite a somewhat gruesome streak in some people, most would agree that they prefer good news to bad news.  Do you not feel that way? (Absolutely! I hate bad news of any kind)  Why, then, does history record so much bad news  and so little good news?  (because they are a bunch of sick,perverted, demon possessed people,who have a lack of sympathetic feelings)  Can the situation ever be reversed?

Next time: Causes of All Bad News

The Watchtower, 1996