A person started to board but couldn’t find the change they needed to pay the appropriate fare. Almost immediately, a woman nearby by stepped forward and provided some of the missing funds. When that still wasn’t enough, another woman paid the rest and the individual was allowed to board the bus.

As I sat there, I wondered what those two Good Samaritans were thinking about. I was impressed how they didn’t even hesitate to aid a fellow human being.

We aren’t talking enormous sums of money here, but I also have no idea what their financial circumstances are. For some, even a few cents makes a big difference.

I don’t want you to think that this was some idyllic place where everyone just always happily helps each other. On the very same trip, I saw conflict between the driver and a passenger and another between two passengers.

But it made me think about the little decisions we make that mold us into who we really are.

I believe that there are definitely times for disagreement and standing up for ourselves.

But I also believe there are times — far more times — when we should choose kindness and compassion.

I think most of us are relieved that the 2026 midterm elections are over. The candidates and their supporters deluged us with signs, advertisements, mailers, phone calls and text messages.

Many of those messages attacked individuals with different views. In Utah I think we were insulated from some of the worst of those attacks but we still saw or heard of many that I found extremely offensive and even heart-breaking.

What’s happened to us?

Is this the people we want to be?

I don’t care whether you are conservative or liberal or somewhere in between. I do not believe politics should ever define our humanity.

I often have wondered whether either side would be smart enough to choose leadership over grandstanding, to choose moderation and compromise over divisiveness and animosity. I see individuals do it, particularly locally, but I see far too little of it from national political organizations and those they have as figureheads.

I would like to believe that true leadership would be rewarded by voters but maybe that’s me deluding myself. Maybe this climate is too toxic for real leadership to succeed.

But I will not lose hope that it can.

Because I see people helping strangers on trains.

I see three strangers speaking up to make sure a traveler at an airport doesn’t lose a dropped jacket.

I see people holding doors and giving up seats for others, or picking up litter.

I see people making the world a little bit better place wherever they are.

I just hope we can see more of our political leaders with that focus instead of focusing on tearing down those who disagree with them.

Jared Lloyd is the managing editor of the Daily Herald and can be reached at jlloyd@heraldextra.com.