I have another "essay" -- this one I struggle with because the timing never seems right. In the last few days the news has been dark, both from the media and people on my FB feed who are personally experiencing hate directed at them or at people they love. So I don't know if this will resonate with you or not -- but know that whatever you are experiencing, my heart goes out to you.
HOPE
November 14, 2016
Back in my InterVarsity days, I was in a group that had a discussion about the spiritual gifts. As we attempted to name each other's gifts (e.g., wisdom, counsel, understanding, fortitude, etc.) someone told me that I had a gift of "hope".
My reaction was "hmmm - that's odd". I couldn't really accept that at the time. I struggled with depression, stress, and anxiety, and during my darker times, hope seemed vaporous and elusive.
But it gave me something to think about over the years. I know there's a ton of theological and philosophical thought about what "hope is". I don't deny any of those right now -- this is just one thought swirling around in my own head.
What if hope isn't passive? What if it develops in a sequence like this?
- Hope is a thought.
- Hope is a choice.
- Hope is an embrace.
In today's political context, it works like this for me. It begins with a thought that within the complexity of history there's something better. There always is. The Black Plague accelerated the Renaissance. The 20th Century had Hitler, but it also had Einstein. Might whatever our demons of today also be outshone by something better?
Then it's a choice. People mostly voted or didn't vote out of their "world view", highly influenced by their locality and their culture. But "world view" is rarely absolute. I'm a liberal, but my world view is constantly being challenged and changed, the stream of my thoughts changing course often as a result of wise things you all say or pretty much any new information. It's a choice of mine whether to staunchly hold onto a world view when it doesn't work any more, or whether to consider something new.
But ultimately, hope is an active verb, not a passive one. It's not something you have, it's something you do. It's an embrace. If your world view is that Government has done little to make your life better, your hope is the act of voting for a populist candidate. If your world view is that we in the majority are ethically obligated to protect, include, enable, and uphold those who don't have a voice, then you are at least figuratively embracing them. In my liberal world, the populist will fail us -- he will disappoint. Those who hate in his name will eventually go back into obscurity. To empower myself, I'm practicing hope by writing these essays. And I'm about to write a letter to Senator Gardner. I signed a petition, and I've had a few conversations with friends. Really for me, hope doesn't exist in its fullness until I do these things.
We see fear and hate being practiced around us -- even in our own county. It's awful, sickening, and demoralizing.
But there's hope being practiced as well, and it is from younger people. I wish the media focused more on it. Our neighbor across the street is in high school and at his school the students organized a demonstration and walkout. His own poster read "Love and Unity, not Hate and Diversity" and it was painted all over with symbols of various religions, nationalities, people holding hands, and the rainbow flag. I saw a photo and as he prepared to march, he had the biggest grin on his face. He was practicing hope, even at his young age.
To those that choose to build their world view around disdain you'll find plenty of examples to reinforce that. Incidents of hate among students have occurred at my son's high school and at another school in a nearby town. Hate is a dark world view you choose to build. For myself, I know some pretty impressive kids and young adults in their 20's -- they did not as a rule support Trump, and because they are a generation with sophisticated social awareness and political savvy, a more connected and global generation, a generation that is better educated, and a generation with a stronger work ethic, there are an abundance of examples of people who inspire me to hope. And they themselves are more ready to practice hope than my generation ever was.
My own hope comes and goes, usually with each new FB post. But I know I can choose hope, and I know that I can embrace where that choice leads me.
Mostly the high school students who made a choice to express love and unity warmed my heart -- and even in these dark days, I'm encouraged by their serious but optimistic efforts to change the world they will inherit.
