December 26, 2013 10:39AM 

# Ending the Year on a Positive Note 

By [Marian L. Tupy](https://www.cato.org/people/marian-l-tupy) 

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Throughout the year, we are constantly bombarded by bad news. Stories about hunger, violence, oppression and illness flow from our television sets and radios, and fill the pages of our newspapers. And true enough, for far too many people, 2013 was not a good year. We must, however, distinguish between stories of individual unhappiness and disaster, and long term trends – which are, on the whole, positive. Over the last couple of weeks a number of stories pointed to these positive developments and I include them below:

[NPR *Morning Edition* “Tired of Doom And Gloom? Here’s the Best Good News of 2013”](http://www.npr.org/2013/12/24/256615983/tired-of-doom-and-gloom-heres-the-best-good-news-of-2013)

[Cracked​.com “5 Amazing Pieces of Good News Nobody is Reporting”](http://www.cracked.com/article_20731_5-amazing-pieces-good-news-nobody-reporting.html)

[*Washington Times* “Most Things are Better Now”](http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/dec/23/rahn-most-things-are-better-now/)

[The​At​lantic​.com “Is the Pope Right About the World?”](http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/12/is-the-pope-right-about-the-world/282276/)

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