Groom not only did not want to be silly, he did not want to be religious. He chooses bounce-back stories, stories of quiet heroism, stories about children, news about medical breakthroughs and bullish economic items. If you read polls, people view the world as getting worse, crime is getting worse. The world's really a lot safer than it has been in the past. It's a lot cleaner than it has been in the past.
People live longer.
They receive better medical care. There are problems in the world. No one denies this. You don't have to be a cynic to be a realist. He pays for it with his own time and money.