This world has been getting worse rather than better, and while there is still so much good in the world, it seems that there are very few media outlets providing us with positive information.

The first article I wrote for Odyssey (you can read it here) was me questioning whether social media has the capability to portray the positive aspects going on around the world; not just the bad. 23 weeks later I realize that maybe that isn't the right question to ask. Maybe it isn't whether social media is discussing all of the positives, it is because us citizens are not discussing the happiness that is shown via Facebook, Twitter, Fox News, CNN or any other news/media outlet that shows up on our news feeds.

And let's be honest: even when there are exciting things happening in the world, no matter the type of event being hosted--like the dang 2016 Summer Olympics--we voluntarily consume only the gloomiest reports we can find.

Gabby Douglas and the U.S. women's gymnastics team [as a whole] is a prime example of how the media is posting the good that is happening, but how we mere mortals are sharing the bad news. Gabby Douglas won bronze in an event, but because two of her teammates won gold and silver, she was unable to participate in the all around event due to some (admittedly unfair) rule made during a past Olympic game.

Rather than us applauding the fact that she added another medal to her collection, as well as her teammates accomplishments, the internet became filled images and articles about how Douglas was caught without her hand over her heart during the National Anthem. First, it's not the pledge of allegiance, so she did nothing wrong. However, the internet quickly stopped sharing not just Douglas' accomplishments, but also Simone Biles, her 19 year old teammate who had one of the most flawless floor routines the Olympics have seen in awhile.

When U.S. swimmer Ryan Lochte reported that him and some other swimmers had been robbed at gun point in Rio, the world of course grew concerned. Now it has been released that he lied about the whole scenario, but yet instead of declaring how proud we are of our country's swimmers, like the obvious Michael Phelps or the breathtakingly talented Katie Ledecky (who literally may be a fish with legs), we are now either showing disdain towards Lochte for his lies, or as the majority of the news is reporting, we are excusing him for "just being a boy."

Can you see the issue here?

I'm not proposing that we only share the exciting, cheerful news, and for the love of whoever you believe in, we have enough animal gifs (though I will always accept more). We need to acknowledge that even in the midst of hardship and turmoil, there are celebrations to be had. The DEA may have kept marijuana as a Schedule I drug with the likes of LSD, but congress also stated that they will stay out of the medical cannabis business; this shows that there is finally a gradual acceptance happening when considering both the benefits and the recusant values of the plant.

Let's all start accepting both the bad and the good to every situation going on around the world.

It's part of doing your share to promote the equality movement, if you think about it.