I Choose To Reject Despair And Fight For Hope.

I really didn’t want to talk U.S. politics again here in the blog section, but it’s been a hard week to ignore.  From the continuing crisis at our southern border, to travel bans being upheld, to a Supreme Court judge’s impending retirement and the political fallout from that; it’s all been enough to preoccupy even the most staunchly escapist mind, short of flatly ignoring the news.  But I’m too old to remain in willful ignorance, so I’ve been paying attention to the goddamn news.

I’m mad.  I’m so mad I can’t think straight some days.  I feel nothing but loathing and disgust for the monsters pushing inhumane policies and fostering division when they should be trying to create unity.  U.S. politics is a goddamn mess and I’m angry most days.

But what’s infuriating me even more lately are the rise of doom-and-gloom op-eds and think-pieces.  I’m starting to see them everywhere and I hate them.  They have titles like “This Is How It All Ends” or “The Coming Collapse” or “It’s Too Late To Stop This Dictatorship” or any other defeatist declaration you can think of.  I haven’t read a single one of them, mind you, because the titles alone make me want to rage at these despair-mongers.  If hopelessness sells, I’m not buying it.

Think of any action movie or comic book you’ve ever read, where an evil warlord needs to be defeated or a tyrannical government overthrown.  Think of that one character who runs around screaming “IT’S OVER!  WE’RE DONE!  IT’S HOPELESS AND WE’VE LOST!”  What happens to that character?  The hero punches them square in the mouth to shut them up so they can concentrate on how to fight the growing evil in front of them.  (I’m not saying you should punch someone in the mouth for being hopeless, but I hope the symbolism of my statement stands.)  The hero doesn’t agree with them and give up the fight because “it’s too late.”  A fighting hero knows it’s only too late when you give up.

So I refuse to believe that we’re looking at the end of American society as we know it.  I reject the idea of your hopeless collapse.  I deny the despair you’re trying to sell me.  I believe in love and compassion.  I believe in the power of change in the name of progress and equality.  I believe fighting the good fight can change the world for the better.  I believe that hatred and division cannot survive when faced with understanding.  It’s not an easy fight.  It’s not a quick win.  But it’s a fight worth digging in for.

Don’t try to sell me your apocalypse.