{"id":933,"date":"2011-08-05T06:27:07","date_gmt":"2011-08-05T10:27:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/activistfaith\/?p=933"},"modified":"2011-08-05T09:28:15","modified_gmt":"2011-08-05T13:28:15","slug":"upside-the-world-needs-more-good-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/activistfaith\/2011\/08\/upside-the-world-needs-more-good-news.html","title":{"rendered":"UPSIDE: The World Needs More Good News"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>When I read Bradley Wright\u2019s book Christians Are Hate-Filled Hypocrites\u2026and Other Lies You\u2019ve Been Told<\/em>, I remember thinking, \u201cWe need more books like this one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, Wright has answered my request and one I believe will be of benefit to you as well. In Upside: Surprising Good News about the State of Our World<\/em><\/a>, Wright aptly describes the good news that rarely finds a spot among our grim entertainment-driven headlines.<\/p>\n

For example, did you know that extreme poverty has been cut in half <\/em>since the 1980s? When is the last time you\u2019ve heard that on your nightly news? Or did you realize that life expectancy has doubled over the last century? By my newspaper\u2019s front page, you would think I should stay in my house for fear of the latest salmonella outbreak. Wright reveals these and many more \u201cgood news\u201d statistics that we long to hear yet rarely do.<\/p>\n

A personal favorite of mine was chapter four, provocatively titled, \u201cAre We Dumber Than We Used to Be?\u201d I say \u201cmy personal favorite\u201d because I have served for over a decade as a youth minister and now as a professor to college students. In this time period, I have witnessed how the Information Age has led to a spike in knowledge among the emerging generation. However, because this same flood of knowledge has been picked up in a myriad of new ways that defy traditional evaluation, critics have concluded today\u2019s students are actually less educated than the past. (Despite the fact that my two year old can navigate the options on my mobile phone!)<\/p>\n

Wright provides his expert insights as a sociologist to point out the fallacies on such issues. For instance, a century ago only 3% of Americans had a four-year degree; today, 27% have at least <\/em>four years of college on their resume. (Even if we\u2019re still paying for it when our own children return to college.) Further, on average, student IQ scores have increased by over three points per decade<\/em>. Worldwide, literacy levels have reached over a whopping 80%.<\/p>\n

While some young Americans choose to invest their increased education on improving their video game scores rather than a career in politics or law, the bottom line is that today\u2019s young people are smarter than at any point in American History. The same trend is taking place globally at varying levels, which has profound implications.<\/p>\n

Could the recent Arab Spring be a result, at least in part, of the growing level of literacy and education among the next generation? Could the decrease in world poverty be linked to the increased level of education among Americans? Wright does not claim to have such answers, but I would suggest that the details he provides opens the door for a deeper conversation regarding how education influences today\u2019s social issues\u2014primarily for the positive.<\/p>\n

In the end, Upside<\/em> clearly achieves its primary goal\u2014to document the surprising good news of the state of our world in an accurate, helpful, and enjoyable manner. For this, we should all rejoice\u2014and share\u2014the good news of Upside<\/em>.<\/p>\n

+++<\/p>\n

DILLON BURROUGHS is an author, activist, and co-founder of Activist Faith. Dillon served in Haiti following the epic 2010 earthquake and has investigated modern slavery in the US and internationally. His books include Undefending Christianity<\/em><\/a>, Not in My Town<\/em><\/a> (with Charles J. Powell), and Thirst No More<\/em> (October). Discover more at ActivistFaith.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When I read Bradley Wright\u2019s book Christians Are Hate-Filled Hypocrites\u2026and Other Lies You\u2019ve Been Told, I remember thinking, \u201cWe need more books like this one.\u201d Now, Wright has answered my request and one I believe will be of benefit to you as well. In Upside: Surprising Good News about the State of Our World, Wright…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":230,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,12],"tags":[16,206,14,205],"class_list":["post-933","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","category-worldview","tag-activist-faith","tag-bradley-wright","tag-dillon-burroughs","tag-upside"],"yoast_head":"\nUPSIDE: The World Needs More Good News - Activist Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/activistfaith\/2011\/08\/upside-the-world-needs-more-good-news.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"UPSIDE: The World Needs More Good News - Activist Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When I read Bradley Wright\u2019s book Christians Are Hate-Filled Hypocrites\u2026and Other Lies You\u2019ve Been Told, I remember thinking, \u201cWe need more books like this one.\u201d Now, Wright has answered my request and one I believe will be of benefit to you as well. 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