Recently, two day hikers, without food, water, map, compass set off on what was supposed to be a short hike near Palm Springs, Calif. Three nights later, they had to start a forest fire to get the attention of rescuers. If they would have used a smidgen of common sense and left their itinerary with someone, that would have made it much easier to find them. And, when lost, for goodness sake, stay in one spot, especially if you don’t have a map. A moving target is much harder to find. And of course, when they emerged from the woods, they are made out to be heroes. But what of the thousands of others who do the right thing and go thousands of miles without ever getting lost? Where is their recognition?
Actually, if things get so bad that proper behavior becomes newsworthy, then we’ll have problems. News is everything that departs from the norm. A guy who drives to work, obeys every traffic signal, comes to a complete stop at four-way stops, arrives at work safely, does his job and returns home safely is not newsworthy. The guy who does something box-of-rocks stupid at any one of these junctures could get his name in the paper if things go his way (well, not his way, actually, since almost all news is bad.).
Link via Cutter.