In these precarious times, it’s easy to sink into despair. But where is the hope?
Gallup reports that Americans’ overall sour mood about the economy and the direction of the country is borne out in their low expectations about the next generation’s prospects of having a better life than their parents. Optimism is down 18 points over three years.
In these pages, I have suggested that this despair is compounded by global crises: the effects of serial pandemics (influenza, HIV and Covid), persistent wars, nuclear threat, racial injustice and democratic decay.
Added to this anguish, last month’s presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump cascaded into name-calling and a slew of misinformation. With serious issues at stake, these candidates even matched up their golf handicaps. Imagine. The coarsening of political rhetoric and lowering of standards leaves many Americans despondent. It debases democratic politics.
In this connection, Thomas Jefferson’s 1809 statement about standards is noteworthy: “The care of human life and happiness . . . is the only legitimate object of good government.”
According to the 2024 World Happiness Report, the United States ranks number 23 among countries. It has fallen eight ranks in one year. Finland, Denmark and Iceland are the top three. Having lived and worked in Finland, I can venture reasons why this country places first: high levels of social cohesion and trust, egalitarian values, ample public services, an excellent educational system, close connections to nature, and appreciation for design, music and art.
It follows that happiness and hopefulness do not stem from blind faith. Moreover, scientific knowledge falls short. Science is unable to explain major aspects of human life, including hope, love and virtue.
Hopelessness can devolve into fatalism: a sense that catastrophes, the apocalypse, await us. The view that the future holds no hope leads to inaction. In this scenario, citizens become demobilized and demoralized.
In contrast, the renowned anthropologist and primatologist Jane Goodall, author of “The Book of Hope,” contends that hope is more than an attitude or predisposition. For her, hope is a “stubborn determination” to make things work. It must be cultivated.
The field of hope studies indicates that hope is an active process. Hope is intentional. It draws on historical memory and is anchored in a sober, accurate assessment of the quandaries of our times. To convert an assessment into action, it must be directed toward a goal.
Asked what gives her hope, the distinguished historian Doris Kearns Goodwin cites the periods she has studied — the Civil War, the Industrial Revolution, the Great Depression, World War II, and the turmoil of the 1960s. She also recalls tumultuous events in her lifetime: the assassinations of JFK, MLK Jr and Bobby Kennedy; riots in our cities; protests on college campuses; LBJ’s plans for the Great Society; and the Vietnam War.
Reflecting on the lessons learned, Goodwin concludes that tough times can bring us “closer to our ideals”: As a country, we have not only survived but “emerged with greater strength.” Although critics may disagree with elements of her rosy analysis, she shows how to plumb history in search of sources of hope.
To my mind, a multistep process can reveal rays of hope.
The first step is unlearning. Identifying and owning up to mistakes made in the past, such as clinging to naïve optimism, constitute strides forward.
Second, know that freedom is not free. It is borne out of struggle. It must not only be defended but often won again and again.
Third, positive experiences must be scaled up. Successes at the local level bear implications for the national, regional, and planetary levels.
This is the pathway to a hopeful future. It can access humanity’s capacity for rebirth and lead to new departures in history. The destination is a horizon of possibilities.
Jim Mittelman, a Boulder resident and Camera columnist, is an educator, activist, and author, most recently, of “Implausible Dream: The World-Class University and Repurposing Higher Education.”
