You've heard the myth about Pandora and how she was told not to open the box. So, of course she opened it, and out popped all the evils we face today: sickness, violence, racism—you get the idea.
However, at the very bottom of the box was hope, this innate desire to believe, no matter how dark life gets, that there's always better things ahead. Obama focused quite a bit on hope toward the end of "A More Perfect Union," and throughout his entire campaign when he continuously acknowledged our faults but also emphasized how much faith he had in our country, in our young people, to create a better future.
Questions About Hope
- Many people have said hope is a dangerous thing. Do you agree? Why or why not?
- What about Obama's personal history gives him so much hope?
- Think about the last time you felt hopeful and how it influenced your point of view. Then, imagine losing that hope. How does that make you feel?
- How could hopelessness within minority populations contribute to racial inequalities and the way whites and Blacks interact with one another?
Chew on This
America is a nation shaped by tradition and patriotic ideology, the most important of which is the stubborn refusal to give up hope.
Over the last decade, the United States has seen a rise in gun violence and other acts of hate that overwhelm nightly broadcasts and our news feeds. Sometimes, our immediate access to this kind of information makes it very difficult to hold on to hope.