All the best poets write about hope. It is a feathered thing and a blessing that the saint gives to the sow. Hope is hell to live without.
I wouldn’t call myself a poet, but at times like this we should all aspire to emulate them.
Like many of you, I spent last Tuesday night on my floor, obsessively updating the needle on the New York Times. I just get up to pace. Around 10 p.m., my friend and I found a quiet spot outside our dormitory and let out a bloody murder scream, as if trying to pierce the thick flank of the night. And while listening to my father’s voice, I kept trying to adjust my heart and not fall straight into my chest, but gradually the calls decreased and I lost hope.
But losing hope is not a luxury we can afford. I know it’s easy to throw up your hands and talk about the apocalypse. If our votes, our organizations, and our efforts have so far not brought about change, why keep trying? Isn’t continuing to do the same thing while expecting a different result the definition of insanity?
Maybe I’m crazy, but I’d rather be a passionate supporter of democracy than passively watch Lady Liberty slit her wrists. What is truly frightening is not madness, but the quiet acceptance of a sick country.
Even before Trump’s victory, I noticed that a disturbing number of people were giving up hope in subtle ways. How often have you heard the phrase “Why vote?” It doesn’t count here anyway. ”The idea is to give up hope. Indeed, in sunny blue states like California, your vote won’t change the outcome of a federal election. You can absolutely make a difference on a smaller scale, but I’m not writing this to bore you with facts about local officials or voting measures.
Instead, I ask you, the reader, this question. Do you want to protect your rights?
President-elect Donald J. Trump has promised the “beautiful Christians” who vote for him that after this election, they “will never have to vote again.” repair America for them. This comment is dangerous for two reasons. Not only does Trump appear to be threatening, or at least rhetorically undermining, the power of the vote, but he has also promised to rebuild the country in the way the Christian voting base prefers, turning America into an insurgent state. It means that it is. -Gun control, anti-public education, anti-LGBTQ+, anti-assembly rights, etc.
Just as it is easier for a painter to accept that he is developing blindness if he has already decided that no one cares about his art, it is easier for a painter to accept that he is developing blindness if he has already decided that no one cares about his art. It’s much easier to vote and gain political rights if you are. By not voting, by not protesting, by not calling your representatives, by not being active in your community, you are following orders that have not yet been given. You are committing suicide because you heard that you will die someday.
There is another, but equally dangerous, version of this hopelessness: martyr love. Again, this did not start last Tuesday. I’ve noticed for a long time that in many of the protests I’m involved in, there are always people who aren’t at all concerned about being arrested, arrested, or beaten. However, this behavior usually does not come from courage, but rather from indifference to their future and well-being caused by political disempowerment.
These people do not believe that they can make a difference while being actively engaged in exercise, so they find the most extravagant ways to distance themselves from exercise.
After President Trump’s election, I feel this sentiment has become even stronger. My mother sent me an email saying she was willing to give up her life in what she believed was an impending civil war. I hear the murmurings of people who want to surrender to violence. I know not everyone is serious, but rhetoric is important. We must never forget the difference between police combat and suicide. If all parents, teachers, artists and activists decide to put themselves at risk, who will teach children right from wrong? Who will fly the flag?
Once again, we should not allow ourselves to be dragged out of the public sphere, and we should never encourage it. When we are alive, resistance to fascism and oppression is more valuable. free. Don’t lose hope in your strength.
My father is an American history scholar. He may deny it, but he loves this country more than anyone I know. My bedtime stories were stories about escaped slaves and the ride to Grandma and Grandpa’s, but the stories turned into lectures about World War II. Listening to his dying voice over the phone, across time zones and the rich land of America, was like hearing the voice of a man betrayed by the one he loved.
But when I called my dad on Wednesday, there wasn’t much sadness in his voice. When I called him on Thursday, I could hear him laughing. I don’t know if hope is a bird, a blessing, or a hell. But it is as essential and necessary to human survival as the air we breathe and the water we drink.
So please express your condolences, but please don’t stop there. Get involved in community activities — A city like Berkeley promises to have organizations and groups that resonate with you. Cherish your friends and family. Email or call the person in charge, even if just to show them there’s still someone to email or call. Don’t stop writing until your hand is cut off, don’t stop speaking until your tongue is cut out.
