Commentary: When social policy fails us, social media is now the main recourse

A feel-good story made the rounds recently about a Florida high school teacher named Robert Goodman and his selfless colleagues. Goodman, who was undergoing twice-weekly chemo treatments for stage III colon cancer, posted to Facebook, "I'm looking into catastrophic leave of absence by the school district but I'm short 20 days ... to qualify for that." The message was accompanied by a selfie taken in the hospital. Almost immediately, district employees gave Goodman a total of 100 days from their personal stockpiles.

Goodman's colleagues