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Thank you for this. So opportune.

"Hope is the thing with feathers," is it not?

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May 26, 2022Liked by Ruth Ben-Ghiat

Needed that reminder. Thanks Ruth! You’re a gem.

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I no longer have hope. Not even a sliver.

I am, however, pissed off and that works for me.

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It is estimated that in the 2016 presidential election that 100 million Americans who could have voted did not vote. Yes, the Democratic Party is not perfect, but neither is it a party that advocates for the replacement of Democracy with Theocracy, not the party that wants to control women's bodies and impose outright fascism on all of us. If the non-voters do not get their act together and vote for the party of Democracy in the fall of 2022 there will come a day very soon when they will wish they had done so. The same goes for those who think of themselves as "Independents" and "moderate Republicans". If we do not deliver a stinging rebuke to the fascists at the polls in this upcoming mid-term election it will likely be recorded that the forces of race hatred and religious bigotry that now run the Republican party succeeded in instituting permanent minority rule

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Agree, heartbroken. What kind of culture have we created when an 18 y.o. , in high school equates buying guns on his 18th birthday to bolster himself into adulthood and be finally noticed and acknowledged? We will lift those 21 precious names to a banner on high and in their names we will cherish and act.

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I'm posting this Wednesday morning. Hope is something I don't have right now and neither does 21 dead in Texas. Hope won't stop the carnage, neither will thoughts and prayers. We reap what we sow. We are a country of insanity, being held together by failing glue.

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Thank you!

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Thanks, Ruth. Perhaps a little clarity: "Hope" is achieved in the process of struggle... and with others. That was also the message of the American Civil Rights Movement that you cited. Beyond that, pessimism is not a program... ~ PJB

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Thank you Ruth. We have to believe that we have the wind beneath our wings. We have to believe that we are the team that is about to break thru and win. Everyone wants associate with the winning team. That is the cloth we must don every day. That is the movement and energy we have to cultivate. We are in the home-stretch until November and we have outreach and talk everyday.

"Do we stay within the comfort zone that we've grown-up in, --- or --- do we venture out and make new friendships and build new links with people who come from different communities?"

(not my quote, and forgive me I cannot find the source-info). This may be Emboo Patel, Interfaith America.

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founding

We just yesterday returned home to the left coast from NYC New School granddaughter’s graduation from Eugene Lang College of

Liberal Arts. Inspiring speakers ( school and students), joyful enthusiasm (as expected), hope unleashed. My personal reflections included hopeful promise of youth. Put up against abundant negativity of all things Republican, authoritarianism stages of human development may overwhelm. Adolescence/ young adultrebellion is hopeful reflection. For all the “don’t say gay”, history book banning, “new iron current” of thought. Personal maturity, development often wins out. Not always perfect. Often rocky. Still it demands notice. The moments for change are now and urgent. Let us allow a (some) deep breath’s. Take heart in maturity of youth over taking immaturity of set in their ways fragile short minds/mindedness. I’ll take time to acknowledge determined optimism, joy to which I was exposed. Perhaps my blood pressure will subside.🙏

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My hope is that people wake up. At least 2/3 of the country is either uninformed, misinformed, or deliberately disinformed. The fact that so many people identify as "independent" is itself mind-blowing. We need some new way to communicate with the masses. Something that we know not yet what it is. That's what I hope for. Thanks for reminding me about hope!

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So how do we cultivate hope in ourselves and others? In my teaching experience, I found that success breeds confidence and hope. The students who already had experienced much success were the most hopeful and motivated. It thus became my self-assigned task to engineer success, especially for those unfamiliar with it.

As you point out, defining success as showing up is a great start. Almost everyone can be a success in that. What else?

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May 24, 2022Liked by Ruth Ben-Ghiat

Thank you for this post on the importance of "Hope".

One thing that gives me hope is knowing that when Frank Luntz opens his mouth EVERY THING else is SPIN. And his Spin is where Hope goes to die. "Resigned Rejecters"? Take a hike, Mr Luntz.

"‘The Lowest Point in My Lifetime’: How 14 Independent Voters Feel About America" January 2022

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/20/opinion/biden-independent-voters.html

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May 24, 2022Liked by Ruth Ben-Ghiat

Thought you might be interested in this short commencement speech on hope I gave in 2017 at the University of West Scotland. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eFTbsbYlEA. There is no viable politics without hope.

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What we know from research is that students who "believe" there is a real possibility of their being able to finish school, finish school at a higher rate than those who don't. Part of hope is the belief in the real possibility of success, partial or complete.

To lose hope is to bet against one's self, I think.

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