Dec 12, 2013 2 min read

This is the season when goodwill attracts special notice, and generosity – or the lack of it – has been the subject of several articles this week in this newspaper.

Readers were informed in Wednesday’s edition of an 8-year-old girl from Claysville with Asperger syndrome and a love of music who, through the efforts of area musicians and the owner of a Carmichaels music store, now has a set of drums. Also on Wednesday was an article about Avella first-graders making fleece blankets for donation to people in need of them.

Tuesday’s paper told the story of generosity of a different sort: the unrestrained forgiveness by Amish parents of the murderer of their children, and the guidance that provided the mother of that killer.

Last Sunday’s front-page article about Corrissa Engle was, in stark contrast to the others, a story of profound indifference and lack of generosity. Engle, whose dental problems are so severe that they could claim her life, has fallen through the cracks in our social safety net and unable to afford the medical care she so desperately requires. There is no sadder example of how broken is our health-care system and how great are the needs of others.

Would that the spirit of giving transcend politics and last through the whole year.