I turn 40 this year, which will mark 20 years of reading all the news and commentary I can get my eyes on each day. Like all news junkies, I find myself falling into frequent ruts of despair, not only because news items are predominantly negative, but also because the enormity of the world makes me aware of my smallness. The world is just so big and humanity is so untenable that it’s a wonder — no, a miracle — that we cooperate to the extent that we do. And when this occurs to me, I find myself in love with the news of the world all over again and fascinated by it all the more.

The events of the past two decades have frequently stunned and humbled me. A person who pays attention is a person with opinions, and a person with opinions is frequently wrong. I’ve been wrong about most things. I’ve been surprised by almost everything.