I find myself contemplating a paradox today. I am wearing a pink/magenta wristband from “A Complaint Free World.com,” intended to be a quiet reminder to shut up when I find myself complaining too much.

And yet in thinking about my last several editorials for this space I seem to have done a lot of complaining lately.

I still believe there are plenty of reasons to continue to be anxious about the state of our economy. I am not happy with the idea that many of the perpetrators and predators of our financial chaos may escape any determination of culpability. However, I think some good news might serve us better at this moment, so I am going to randomly wander through a couple of instances recently where my hope for us has been rekindled by the small acts and overheard words of average people.

Sitting in front of me at the Red Sox/Yankee game a few nights ago were a Sox fan and Yankee fan, side by side, who did not know each other before sitting down and realizing they were on opposite sides of most of the noisy moments of the night. In the sixth inning the Sox fan brought a brew back for the shocked Yankee fan, pointing out that beer service stopped in the next inning. Perhaps this was not in the realm of a Mideast peace settlement, but a clear indication that accommodations are possible when no longer depersonalizing the “enemy.”

Full disclosure requires acknowledging that I did hear the Sox fan swear he would never admit to this act of kindness if ever confronted with it. I wondered if he had ever read Emerson’s words, “You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.” There were several instances of seats being offered up to the less advantaged on the post game “T” ride. This could have been nothing more than euphoria over a three game sweep of the Yankees, but the civility was still encouraging.

Stricken Stereotypes

At Dunkin Donuts, three or four men, blue-collared, tattooed, and multi-cultural, having watched a weekend golf tournament in New Orleans, which in and of itself may seem an anti-stereotype, were engaged in a discussion of the abysmal effort to recover from Katrina. Shifting between plate tectonics, and the possibility of a mid-continental shift that could devastate Chicago, and speculating on how different the response to that event would be, the conversation was fascinating and compassionate. Their disgust with the federal government failing some of our country’s poorest citizens was heartening. No, “Heck of a job, Brownie,” to be heard in this crowd.

Last week at a local non-profit organization’s annual ‘Book and Bake Sale’, one customer came up to one of the cashiers with a few books to purchase. As she prepared to pay for the books, she explained that she had found something in one of the books and thought the organization holding the fundraiser should have it. She then handed over five one hundred dollar bills to the cashier. She wouldn’t even allow her book purchase to go unpaid as a thank you for her honesty and generosity.

All of these events happened within a three-day span. ‘What of it?’ you say. While all of our attention is being directed towards the greedy, self-absorbed cretins who are capturing today’s headlines, I’m betting there are thousands of these little stories going on in the quiet corners of our actual day to day lives.

Open your eyes, ears, and hearts to the evidence that the vast majority of us continue to behave as decent, honest human beings. As we slowly recover from our current crisis we need to expect and demand nothing less than this same level of ethical, caring behavior from those we entrust to lead us into a better future.