This is part 2 of a two-part series: Read Click here for Part 1
What can we do to improve our condition? When we read about the concept of hope, some of it is written in thick theoretical texts (like Ernst Bloch's theoretical treatises). principle of hope, (3 volumes, MIT Press 1995), as well as a more accessible text.
My understanding is that hope is not the same as optimism, or that hope is the opposite of pessimism. (See Terry Eagleton hope without optimism, University of Virginia Press, 2015. and Rebecca Solnit, Hope in the darkness.Untold history, great potential, 3rd edition. Haymarket Books Chicago, 2016)
Optimism or pessimism simply means that you have a sense that things will get better or worse without you doing anything. It will be so, and a person will be an optimist or a pessimist or not. Optimism/pessimism perpetuates passivity. What people need is to find their own role. This is to exercise one's own subjective independence.
Rebecca Solnit writes that she wrote about hope because it “speaks directly to the inner life of our current politics, the emotions and perceptions that underlie our political positions and political engagement.”surprised by greed A desire for another way to tell who and where we have been, I decided to write this… book. ” (Solnit, p. xiii. My italics.)
Solnit thinks of hope this way:
“It's important to say what's not hope. It's not the belief that everything is okay, that it's okay now, that it's going to be okay. There's tremendous suffering and tremendous destruction all around us. There is evidence. The hope I am interested in is a broader perspective with specific possibilities, something that calls or demands us to act. It is also a counter to the narrative that everything is going to get worse. It's not a sunny story of all things getting better, although it's possible. This can be called an account of complexity, uncertainty, and new possibilities. “Critical thinking without hope is ironic. But hope without critical thinking is innocent,” Bulgarian writer Maria Popova recently said.
Patrice Cullors, one of the founders of Black Lives Matter, defined the movement's mission in its early days as “achieving collective change, rooted in grief and anger, but directed toward vision and dreams.'' “Offering hope and inspiration for collective action to build collective power.” '. It is a declaration that sadness and hope can coexist. ” (in pp.xiii-xiv)
Feeling hopeful or relying on hope is a different type of orientation than optimism or pessimism. It does not depend on conditions that indicate certainty or future victory.
“Hope lies in the premise that we don't know what will happen, and that there is room for action in the breadth of uncertainty.” , recognize that you may be able to collaborate with millions of others and influence outcomes. Hope is embracing the unknown and the unknowable, and is an optimist It is an alternative to both the pessimist's convictions.
“Optimists think everything will be fine without our involvement. Pessimists take the opposite position. Both make excuses for quitting acting. It's about when and how. , the belief that what we do is important even though we cannot know in advance who or what it will affect…” (Solnit, p. xiv.)
Shakespeare captures this sense of navigating the uncertainty of the Banquo era. Macbeth, the witches ask.
“If I could look into the seeds of time,
And say which grains will grow and which will not.
Then speak to me…” (I. 3. 22-3)
The concept of hope is based on the lessons of history that inform our actions today and our current understanding and actions. One looks to the present for signs and buds that could grow into something fresh and new. It may help us regain what we have lost in recent years.
In this case, we can especially look at the history of South Africa's liberation. In the 1960s, the idea of a free and democratic nation led by Nelson Mandela and his ANC was held up by many. But there was little sign of that future victory. Already at that time they had begun to develop long-term goals, even though many believed they would not live to see the free South Africa in which they worked.
However, there were signs underground that, with the rise of the Black Consciousness Movement and the June 1976 exiles and many solidarity movements, popular opposition was gradually increasing. These and other forms of resistance were all part of building an alternative to the apartheid regime.
So, as I understand it, the hope is not based on what's available there, but to provide the needed replacement right away. But it is based on the lessons of history. Gains can take a very long time to achieve, which means they must be protected, built over time, and strengthened. That happened in South Africa, and there were setbacks. It is also based on how we understand the present and what is happening.
Even in the midst of the current quagmire of corruption, violence, and abuse, there are signs of goodwill on the part of groups like Gift of the Givers (who also have a presence in Gaza and have been there for many years). How many years have you been staying there?
It is important to note that not only the gift from the giver points to the future, but also the many ways through soup kitchens, collecting clothes and food, and providing elements of shelter for people whose buildings have collapsed or collapsed. There are also small-scale efforts being made by people. Burnt out. For people who have been or are experiencing near-permanent homelessness, organized or voluntary help from others is often available.
These are early forms of a broader humanism that is expected to develop. They are people who embrace the concept of common humanity. And while the concept of common humanity may not be widespread, it exists even if that hope is not realized immediately or given time to achieve it. people build their hopes on that basis.
Nevertheless, it expresses a sense of what can be achieved for the future we have to build.
prophet concept
I am not religious, but I have come to learn from the following ideas. prophecy, how to analyze situations that may be relevant to resolving the crises that continue to be faced in this country. This is to build something that enhances our common well-being. The late Albert Nolan explained the meaning of prophecy this way:
“Prophets are people who can predict the future, usually not as fortune tellers, but as people who have learned to read the signs of the times. Prophets are people who can predict the future, not as fortune tellers, but as people who have learned to read the signs of the times. Prophets are people who can predict the future, not as fortune tellers, but as people who have learned to read the signs of the times. By focusing our attention on trends and becoming fully aware of them, we can see where everything is heading.” (Albert Nolan, Jesus Today: Radical Freedom Spirituality, Cape Town, Double Story Books, 2006, pp. 63-4. )
This “reading the signs of the times” is what Marxists, and perhaps others, call understanding the “conjunction of the present.”
One reads the signs of the times to recognize what has the potential to grow and the signs that need to be expanded, built, multiplied, and replicated in many parts of the country.
The concept of prophecy and being a prophet is not only reserved for great and powerful people. We all need to understand this union, or read the signs of the times, or learn how to read the signs of the times from those who practice it and provide it to us. We need to read the signs of the times without trying to reduce the difficulty of interpretation.
Don't try to make a task look easier than it actually is. In my opinion, this is what some opposition parties do when they try to make it seem as though they can solve the country's problems fairly easily.
Even if the ANC were no longer the leading force in government, or even if they were just outside of government, it would still take a long time to resolve the country's problems.
You can't underestimate that. And the importance of improving the situation in small and gradual ways cannot be underestimated.
In many cases, some are alive today thanks to gradual, small-scale interventions by charities, health workers, or others who seek to help people in difficult situations. We need to observe these situations, identify them and focus our efforts on them.
Does not offer a comprehensive solution
What may be small in one situation can be large enough to change the situation in a country when combined with similar small-scale efforts elsewhere.
I am not offering an alternative that is a viable program to solve this country's problems at this time.
What I'm trying to do is use the history, the memory, that we have or need to reclaim as normal human beings to create rays of hope, small-scale interventions that can become large-scale. is to provide a methodology for We were able to achieve this in this country.
What was done in the past must be brought back to our memory and demonstrate that we have the potential to turn around what is happening in our country.
You can't just forget about that resource. This is a resource we have always used when the ANC's Radio Freedom recited the heroes and heroines of the past who resisted colonial invasion and conquest in the liberation struggle. Because it was a sense of power and power that people had. They were able to achieve it again.
We need to rebuild these resources in new situations. Even if you start small, you need to identify where you can make an impact and involve as many people as possible in its development. DM
Note: I do not claim to be an expert on the concept of hope or prophecy, especially the former. I have been inspired to provide more answers to disillusionment than I have ever written. This is part of my answer and I hope to develop this in future contributions.
This article first appeared on Creamer Media's polity.org.za.