The Power of Hope: Inspired af

For close to nine years America has existed on the spectrum of anxiety, fear and hopelessness. When Donald J. Trump came down that escalator, everything in our country shifted–our values, our truth, our vision for the future. For two hundred plus centuries prior we believed that anyone who took up the quest for the presidency believed in the possibility of this country and believed in our democratic values even if our ideologies differed. That sense of “we-ness” changed dramatically with the emergence of Trumpism and the anti-American sentiments of MAGA. 

This shift in our politics is what sent me to a microphone in 2017. I wanted to help ring the alarm to the dangers that this man and his cult followers posed. For years I lambasted Republicans and feckless Democrats for allowing this to happen. I thought anger alone would be enough to push back against hate. 

I was sorely mistaken. 

Dr. Martin Luther King once said, “darkness cannot drive out darkness only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.” I knew this quote well, but until recently I will admit I didn’t believe it. I was of the “fight fire with fire” school of thought. Except fighting fire with fire only creates a firestorm it doesn’t temper anything. I’d become so committed to my rage I didn’t realize that it was eating me from the inside out. The sleepless nights, sporadic tears, anxiety and bouts of depression became my constant companion–until recently. In one courageous act of patriotism and selflessness President Biden not only changed the course of history but he transformed the vibe of the entire party and infused it with hope. 

Hope is the antidote to hate. Hope gives us the power to believe that more is possible. It gives us the space to dream of something bigger and better than what we’re experiencing at the moment. Hope as the 90’s movie stated does indeed float–it allows our despair to ease and creates space for possibility. VP Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz and their campaign of joy has provided me and the country with a much needed infusion of positivity and faith that good things can still happen in a country that has been suffocated over the last 9 years with hate and toxicity. While I know that the road to November 5th will indeed be hard fought, I’m excited to do so as a happy warrior with hope and faith as my tools rather than from a place of fear and grief. We will win if we believe we can!