Choose to see the good in people, despite the risk of hurt and betrayalTerry Hoffman’s arrest is a big news story around the region (see news), but it’s particularly troubling to those close to him, especially considering the alleged activity dates back so far and the list of stolen items is so long.The Terry Hoffman we had come to know grew up in a close family in a supportive community. Many know him as a conscientious father, a generous volunteer (in Luverne hockey and baseball programs, for example) and as a loyal friend.Most of us didn’t know and never saw the Terry Hoffman who could be involved with stolen property, and that’s why his criminal charges are so unnerving. How could we not know?The underlying theme of the story unfolding in Luverne is that a lot of people are feeling hurt and betrayed, which is unfortunate, but I also worry about the broader, long-term effect of abusing personal trust.It has a way of eroding our faith in humanity, or at least our faith in home-town goodness. We’d like to believe we can trust the boy who was born and raised in Luverne, because secrets don’t survive amid such life-long familiarity.Certainly this isn’t the only case involving the arrest of presumably decent, small-town people. Even priests, for instance, have been arrested for molesting alter boys.But with each scrolling TV news ticker, the danger is that we’re less likely to accept goodness at face value — that we’ll wonder what darkness lurks on the other side of a good-looking front.… And what a sad result at a time of year when we should be celebrating peace, joy and love.As with most things, life’s what we make it, and we have a choice in how we’ll respond to this, too.The natural tendency would be cynicism and mistrust, but I would advocate — to balance this tendency — that we respond with a stronger commitment to recognizing goodness in humankind.We’ll run the risk of getting hurt again, but that’s still a better choice than living angry and suspicious.Life’s too short for that.I still believe in the good people of this town, and I choose to believe most people are good at heart.That, my friends, isn’t just a warm holiday idea, it’s an approach we’d all do well to live by.