Cold enough for you?

No, I’m not talking about the weather — although I suppose that has been nippier than Frosty the Snowman’s junior-prom date. Rather, I’m referring to the metaphorically ice-cold, heartless world we find ourselves living in these days.

That point was driven home this past week with the shocking story of four young adults in Chicago who kidnapped and tortured an 18-year-old special-needs man. That there are alleged human beings out there who would do such a thing to the most vulnerable among us is almost beyond comprehension.

RELATED: Four in Chicago held after Facebook video shows group assaulting disabled man

Of course, very nearly as disturbing are the sadly predictable reactions to such news. Folks immediately lined up on opposite sides of the political fence, eager to make hay over hot-button issues like race and hate crimes.

It’s a sorry state of affairs, to be sure. A white cop shoots a black man, and one group calls it a racially motivated hate crime while the other argues skin color had nothing to do with it. And then, four black people kidnap and torture a mentally-disabled Caucasian — even screaming “(obscenity) white people!” during the incident — and suddenly the two sides are flopping arguments.

In the midst of all this sad, chilling news, the occasional story surfaces that fills me with warmth and hope.

RELATED: Ben Lomond High student goes from dropout to success through Achievement Club

Standard-Examiner reporter Anna Burleson recently wrote a wonderful story about Evelyn Morales, a Ben Lomond High School student who just a year or two ago was well on her way to becoming yet another dropout. But then along came Achievement Club — and the school’s Own Your Future mentor Nora McCroby, who wouldn’t take “whatevs” for an answer.

Today, Evelyn is a junior at Ben Lomond, headed toward graduation and a bright future. It’s my favorite story of the year so far.

Of course, the icy winds of hatred will ever howl, attempting to snuff out any light and heat that might be generated by such feel-good tales. Because just a day or two after the piece about Evelyn came out, some hater wrote a letter to the editor questioning our coverage.

LETTER: Kids don’t deserve attention for doing what they’re supposed to do

“I really wish we, as a society, would stop glorifying and rewarding people who fail and give a little more attention to those who use the good old-fashioned hard work to get somewhere,” the letter-writer complained, later asking, “Why don’t you focus on the students who are doing what they are supposed to be doing as teenagers instead of the ones who are forcing the Ogden School District to take resources away from everyone else?”

Why indeed. Just in case this letter-writer fancies herself a Christian woman, I believe Jesus answered that question quite nicely.

In The Parable of the Prodigal Son, the father breaks it down for the envious non-prodigal sibling: “And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.”

It never ceases to amaze me that there are people out there who would begrudge someone else’s success.

Friday, I drove my grandson and granddaughter to school. As the roads were icy and multiple crashes had clogged Interstate 15 in Davis County, commuters were using the surrounding surface streets. I tried to make a left turn onto one of those streets, where a line of traffic crawled off into the distance as far as the eye could see. There was no way I was ever getting onto that street.

RELATED: More than 50 crashes reported on I-15 in Davis County due to black ice Friday

Just as I was about to give up and suggest to the grandkids that we play hooky for the day, I experienced the best of human nature. A kindly vehicle in this long queue slowed and stopped, allowing me space to enter traffic. But then, as I waved my thanks, I experienced the worst of human nature.

Someone in a vehicle behind this Good Samaritan honked their horn.

Which got me to thinking. It seems to me there are two kinds of people in this world — those who are considerate of others, and those who aren’t.

Which one are you?

Am I the kind of person who values someone’s life and their individual experience, no matter the color of their skin? Or do I merely view them as more ammunition in the war against my political opponents?

Am I the kind of person who celebrates the achievements of young women like Evelyn Morales? Or do I bitterly complain about her “special treatment”?

In other words: You’re either the kind of person who would stop to let another motorist into traffic — delaying your own journey by a few precious moments in the process — or you’re the kind of person content with angrily honking at those filling the world around you with good deeds.

So, warm enough for you now?

Contact Mark Saal at 801-625-4272, or msaal@standard.net. Follow him on Twitter at @Saalman. Like him on Facebook at facebook.com/SEMarkSaal.