Choosing Hope

“There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America.”

President Bill Clinton, First Inaugural Address, January 20, 1993

I was recently at a business meeting in Little Rock, Arkansas. After the meetings were over, Mary Ida and I stayed an extra day to see the sights. On our list was Clinton’s Presidential Library. Fortunately, the library was only a 15-minute walk from our hotel.

Of some of the first things you see when you enter the library proper are these words from Clinton’s first inaugural address. I admit that I stood transfixed for a while, then the tears came. Simple words, but words of hope and affirmation that were important in 1993, and perhaps more important today.

I also thought about our podcast conversation with Paul Jones. Paul is a prophet and poet. His book of poetry, After the Silence should be in your library, or better yet, on your bedside table.

Paul writes out of the depths of his own struggle through a “dark night of the soul”. But his words are not about despair. He is able to name the silence, the anxiety of the “not knowing”, and yet when you travel with him, you hear the unmistakable openness to hope. I will not do him the dishonor of trying to capture all that Paul says – you need to read his work and get on the journey with him.

But I do know how these words from President Clinton and Paul Jones’ poetry have intersected for me over these last few weeks. I have become aware of how much I have allowed myself to embrace cynicism, anger and despair as a primary stance toward world events, especially in my own country. The politics of blaming and shaming, choosing sides and creating enemies, lies and more lies about lies – I am spiritually and mentally exhausted.

And yet…

There is something stirring. I know that on my better days, I will choose hope over despair. And I will continue to be connected to people who can hope for me when my coping is thin. That’s what community and relationships are at their best.

I want to be clear – hope is not about “my side” winning. At least it shouldn’t be about winners and losers. It’s about believing that our better selves will prevail, that light can overcome darkness, and that even in the darkness, there are lessons to be learned. It is believing that, ultimately, love is stronger than hate.

I am not sure what “curing America” looks like. Perhaps it calls for me to take the long view on this grand experiment of governance. We have cycled through peace and chaos over the years, and we have survived. As a country, we may not look like we once did, and change can be painful and disorienting. It can be chaotic and frightening. And, it is necessary. 

Sometimes I want to hold on to what has been so tightly that I can’t see the emerging and not-yet. I suppose that is true for our country.

It is certainly true for my own life journey.