Agency Through Hope

I wanted to start off the post with a quote from an author that really encapsulates the themes of the readings assigned this week:

“To live is to wrestle with despair yet never to allow despair to have the last word.” - Cornel West

Despair comes in many forms and is pervasive at some point in each of our lives. To some this despair comes in the form of grief. This was the case in Sherman Alexie’s “Do Not Go Gentle” who aply personifies grief as Mr. Grief throughout this short story. The story involves thier son, who, after an accident falls into a deep coma. Sherman describe many battles he had to endure with Mr. Grief while his son fought to regain his consciousness. Though through all this he remained focused on being there and supporting his son. When Sherman leaves the hospital to find his son a toy he mistakes a sex toy shop for a kids toy store. Though determined not to come back empty handed, he ends up finding a giant dildo called “Chocolate Thunder”. Sanding at 15inches, Sherman clutched Chocolate Thunder and though its seemed absured brought it back to the hospital and started to “cast spells” over his baby and others sick babies in the hospital. This one small (or in chocolate thunders not-so-small case) action completely shifted how Sherman and others present in the hospital felt. The mood changed from utter despair to a more upbeat and arguably hopefull outlook for the concerned families. 

This is what many of the authors are arguing that must do in the face of despair. Not to run around and cast spells with a giant dildo but to rather to seek out and practice hope. For, “hope can keep us sane - and preserve the decency and dignity requisite to revitalize our organizational energy for the work to be done.” - Cornel West. It is important, West would argue, not to confuse hope with optimism. Hope requires that we act and use our own personal agency, no matter how small, to enact change that are destined to have profound ripple effects. Like how Sherman’s outlandish behavior with chocolate thunders sent ripples of happiness and hope to others thoughout the hospital that day. Optimisim on the other hand requires no input whatsoever. To practice optimisim without hope is to live life on the sidelines. Sometimes being optimistic requires ignoring the unwanted evidence or just outright denial. Though, I do agree with West in that, to live a fulfilling and rewarding life we must build our life on a foundation of serving others. With a goal to leave the earth in a better state than you found it. And when you come across seemingly insurmountable problems and are struck with grief and despair remember:

“The problem is not that we have so little power. The problem is that we don’t use the power that we have.” - Darusha Veronica Goska