The Case for Hope

“I never have been in despair about the world. Enraged. I’ve been enraged by the world, but never despair. I cannot afford despair… you can’t tell the children that there is no hope.” – James Baldwin

As I write this, we are about a month and a half into the FOTUS’s (Felon of the United States) second term, he’s threatened and abandoned our allies, he’s enabled the firing of thousands of federal workers, he’s taken steps to align the U.S. with Russia, and he’s made the United States into a joke on the world stage. Our rights, our freedoms, and our safety are all under attack. Despair is a common reaction, but don’t you dare give in. I’m not saying not to be worried, and I’m not saying don’t be realistic about what’s achievable. Odds are, we’re stuck with Trump for a while, and unfortunately a lot of people are going to get hurt and others will die because of his and his supporters’ callous actions. But despair is how he wins. Despair is how movements end. Despair is a welcome mat for fascists.

The truth is, even though he’s had some success in hurting people, in hurting our allies, and in consolidating executive power, he’s also been getting a lot of push back. Not as much as we’d like to see, but it’s slowing him down. It’s bringing some people out of the fog. It’s making people angry enough to fight back. Some of the GOP congresspeople have pushed back on his actions because they are afraid of the harm he’s causing their constituents (or at least they are afraid of losing their constituents’ votes). Tesla shares are rapidly losing value as many people boycott the brand and their hopelessly stupid and corrupt frontman. Starlink is losing deals around the world as well, and facing pushback on attempts at coercing government contracts.

It’s not always obvious when you look at posts from people who are devoted to the demagogue, or when you watch the news, which has been bought out by billionaires who are rooting for Trump’s takeover. But people are not happy with his plan, and they are fighting back. Rachel Maddow can speak to the specifics much better than I can, so I suggest you seek out some of her content. She gives a great rundown of some of the major actions that have been slowed, stopped, or even reversed because of pushback.

Despair is a natural reaction to losing your autonomy, your freedom, and your control over your own life. But odds are, if you’re reading this, you haven’t lost that. It’s been threatened and it’s been eroded, but you still have autonomy, control, and power. I highly encourage you to exercise your autonomy, your control, and your power to put positive change into the world, by supporting people you care about, volunteering, calling your congresspeople and other local politicians to express your concerns, joining a protest, or making mindful spending decisions. Little things like this have an amazing way of reminding you of the power you have and the impact you can make in the world.

Note: If you are in a situation where you truly do not have autonomy or control, such as an abusive domestic situation, incarceration, a crisis situation, illness, or for whatever reason you are struggling to have your own needs met, then focus on yourself and your safety right now. The message below is intended for those with the capacity at this time to do work beyond their own situation.

If you are a privileged person, as I am, odds are that this feeling of the government being a threat to your safety and well-being is a fairly new one. It’s important to remember that Black parents have to warn their children, especially their sons, from a young age to be careful around police and to be cautious around white people who might find their very existence threatening. Gay, lesbian, and bisexual people who enter same-sex relationships had to live without the protections of marriage until very recently. And even after equal marriage rights were made legal, they’ve had to deal with constant threats to repeal it. Trans people have been under attack for a very long time, and many, especially trans women, are at high risk of facing discrimination, physical violence, sexual violence, and murder, and will often not be taken seriously or protected when they seek justice from police or other legal avenues. Brown-skinned people, including Latino people and Muslims coming from the middle east or southern Asia, especially those who have immigrated recently and may not speak English or speak English with a foreign accent, may be threatened with deportation, called terrorists or illegals, or asked to produce papers demonstrating their right to be in the country. Unhoused and impoverished people have to deal with all sorts of government interference with their well-being, through criminalizing homelessness, NIMBY (not in my back yard) driven regulations preventing the building of shelters or subsidized housing, and general harassment by police and other officials. People with disabilities spend hours and hours completing paperwork and then wade through months or years of waiting, denials, and appeals to try to get disability benefits and Medicaid, and are then severely limited in how much they can work and how much money they can save before they risk losing their benefits and having to start the process over without a safety net.

Those of us in the U.S. with the privilege that comes with being white, cis, straight, American-born, and above the poverty line have up until recently lived in a world that mostly works (albeit with plenty of issues), and just hums along, generally protecting us from serious harm. Those without that privilege may live in the same country, but they live with a broken government that hurts them and fails them. Still, the people who have been kicked and stomped by this government just keep living their lives, and many of them rise up and work to make the world a better place. They may do this work by protecting other vulnerable people, by working in service organizations, by running for political office or supporting progressive politicians, and by participating in political action. Many organizations that help LGBTQ+ populations are founded by or in partnership with LGBTQ+ individuals. Many organizations that support people with disabilities were founded by people with disabilities. The civil rights movement was started and led by Black people who wanted better for themselves and their community, and that work continues to be carried on by Black people.

Whether this sense of vindictive government gone wrong is a new feeling for you, or just an escalation of your usual, I hope you can hold onto the hope. Hope can provide the fuel to do the work that needs to be done. Hope allows us to see the good in others, and to see a future worth working for. Hope and despair are also both contagious. If you share your hope and the good you are doing in the world, people take notice and find their own hope. If you wear your despair everywhere you go, that can catch on too.

Don’t mistake the call for hope for toxic positivity. This does not mean that you should always have a sunny smile on your face. This does not mean that you never talk about the bad things. You should absolutely talk about the problems, and you should absolutely talk about the fear or sadness or anger you feel about everything that’s happening. But hold onto the glimmers of hope you experience. Share the good news and the happy moments and the laughter. This one’s a hard one for me, but talk about the good work you do when you volunteer. I sometimes worry that it sounds like bragging or virtue signaling when I share that I’ve volunteered or I’ve made calls to my representatives or when I post anything positive to social media that’s supportive of groups currently under threat by the FOTUS and his cronies. What I’m finding is that it gives people some hope, inspires them to find their own opportunities to do good, and helps build awareness for important issues facing people in my community.

My personal experience has been that getting involved and helping causes I believe in has been the most effective way to build up my own hope. And I hope it’s supporting hope for others.

I would like to share the caveat that my experience would be very different right now if I hadn’t gone on a long and difficult journey to figure out how to manage my mental and emotional health. Depression, anxiety, OCD, and neurodivergence made me very prone to despair and made hope very hard to find for much of my life. With lots of support and help from family and friends, and with care from some wonderful healthcare professionals, I found some strategies and medications that have enabled me to live a fulfilling life with stability and a healthy mindset. If despair is a frequent problem for you, talking to your doctor or a therapist may be a good place to get support for finding the hope.

If you’re looking for hope or looking for ways to get started, and you’re still feeling lost, feel free to drop me a line. If you know me in real life, reach out on Facebook or over the phone. If you don’t know me in real life, send me an e-mail using my contact form at the bottom of the page. I would love to help you get started.