Welcome to my new column on Crucial Minutiae. Every Wednesday, “Beauty in a Wicked World” will offer evidence — some huge, some tiny — that hope still exists in the world, that we aren’t all going to hell in a handbag.

Today, in Brooklyn, the trees are still bare, and the partial sun and 60 degrees might slip back into snow by the weekend. But in Houston, where I’m from, my favorite flower has sprouted up all over the place. It’s a weed that grows in great bunches throughout Texas. I used to pick handfuls of them and plop them in a Dixie cup when I was a kid.

The weed’s name? Nothing poetic like “bluebonnet” or “Indian paintbrush.” No, it’s called Crow-poison, or false garlic. There is still hope when something so lovely goes by such a funky name. I appreciate that.

Now that your senses are warmed up, here’s a more dramatic item for you:

I just got an e-mail from a young activist about 15 Yale students who just returned from Mauritania, where they helped monitor the country’s first democratic election since a military coup in 2005.

One of the students belongs to Young People For, a progressive group launched by People for the American Way Foundation. The group helps passionate and talented young leaders continue the work of existing organizations.

I hate all the bad press that America’s youth gets for being apathetic and selfish, so I’m always buoyed by reports like this. Yes, there are bored teenagers who care only about their Top Eight, but there are also young people stepping outside of their lives to make a difference in the world.