Feel good about people again

In the midst of a deadly pandemic, where a small, vocal minority of people aren't being kind or thoughtful, selfishly ignoring collective action to save lives, it's good to be reminded that people are generally good and kind.

The real Lord of the Flies: what happened when six boys were shipwrecked for 15 months

No one noticed the small craft leaving the harbour that evening. Skies were fair; only a mild breeze ruffled the calm sea. But that night the boys made a grave error. They fell asleep. A few hours later they awoke to water crashing down over their heads. It was dark. They hoisted the sail, which the wind promptly tore to shreds. Next to break was the rudder. “We drifted for eight days,” Mano told me. “Without food. Without water.” The boys tried catching fish. They managed to collect some rainwater in hollowed-out coconut shells and shared it equally between them, each taking a sip in the morning and another in the evening.

Then, on the eighth day, they spied a miracle on the horizon. A small island, to be precise. Not a tropical paradise with waving palm trees and sandy beaches, but a hulking mass of rock, jutting up more than a thousand feet out of the ocean.

What followed is a fascinating story. The outcome surprised a lot of people, but represents what I think is a true example of the human spirit. Humans have survived and thrived on this planet not because we're the strongest or fastest animal (we're definitely not), nor solely because we're the smartest. We've survived because we form communities, combining our individual strengths into something far stronger. This is something the "reopen America" people just don't get.

Check out the story.