“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness” ~ Desmond Tutu.

Manchester, England used to be famous for its rainfall.  Having lived there as an adult for three years, over 40 years ago, I can attest to there being lots of grey sky, frequent rainy days, quite a lot of gloom.  Global warming may have changed that.  Even longer ago, when I was a child, there would be significant fog, what they used to call ‘pea-soupers’, fog as thick as pea soup!  What changed those episodes was cleaning up the environment.  There was a move to ‘smokeless coal’ (it was an era where coal was the most common form of fuel for house-warming and industry), and the cleaner environment meant there were less particles in the atmosphere for moisture to hold onto, thus less fog.

I remember (long after I left the UK and was living as an adult in the balmy climes of South Florida) flying in to Manchester to visit family.  The flight was a ‘red-eye’, flying overnight, arriving in the morning with a plane-load of bleary-eyed and cranky passengers.  The dawn had broken somewhere near Ireland, and we were privileged to have front-row seats to a beautiful rose -colored sunrise.  Then clear blue skies.  As we began our descent into Manchester we were warned to fasten our seatbelts, as we were in for some turbulence.  The descent took us through layer after layer of deep, thick, puffy, grey clouds and soon we could see not an inch of blue sky.

Once on the ground, emerged from our flying machine, I was amazed to look up and realize that I could see nothing but complete cloud cover, solid grey.  Who would believe that above all of that moisture laden ceiling, there were clear blue skies?  More than a meteorology lesson, it gave me a lesson in hope.  Just because you are surrounded by darkness, it doesn’t mean that there isn’t bright sunshine and blue skies just beyond your sight.

For those of us who live in the US, these are very strange times.  I remember some episodes in Seinfeld, where they spoke about Bizarro-word, where everything was upside down and back-to-front.  It was the opposite of our world, (in fact they called it Htrae (Earth backwards), a place where beauty was considered ugly; where good actions were considered a crime.  It may have originated in comic-books, but it certainly feels as if we are living in it now.

There is so much going on at the moment that is wrong, that it seems as if we have normalized bad behavior.  It is almost impossible to be outraged by everything, so we risk being outraged by nothing.  A man on a news network suggests that a solution to the homeless population is to eliminate them by ‘lethal injection … or something’, and this is met with nothing?  His co-hosts don’t act shocked, don’t push back.  A journalist writes about the death of a right-wing influencer by quoting the influencer’s own words about Black women, and she (a Black woman) is fired.  A comedian makes a joke about the response among right-wingers to the death of the influencer, and his show is ‘indefinitely suspended’.  Teachers, fire-fighters, nurses are under threat of being fired if they post anything negative about the death of the influencer.  And this in a nation where the first amendment to the constitution is dedicated to the concept of freedom from government interference, in freedom of speech; freedom of the press; and more.  And yet, here in Bizarro world we must police our own opinions, our own response to what we see as unfair, unjust, and inhumane.

So where is the hope?  I have to confess that I am still fond of my Facebook feed.  I know that AI and algorithms send me all sorts of random items, and I have become quite suspicious of their origin.  Surely Jasmine Cockett did not face down the Supreme Court and confront them with their unfair decisions?  Did the White House Press Secretary really go after Coco Gauff? Not to mention Paul McCartney visiting Phil Collins in hospital (with his guitar) and serenading him.  Bruce Springsteen has apparently been joined onstage by any number of other big name artistes for soulful rendering of heartfelt songs.  All possible, and yet a search of the internet comes up blank.

But on my page I also see stories (and they may be fiction for all I know) of small acts of kindness.  Recently I saw a beautiful story (with photographs) of an African American AAA mechanic responding to a roadside emergency.  He allowed the three- and four-year-old (white) children of the stranded motorist to ‘help’ him fix the car, even allowing them to work the wrench back and forth to remove the battery.  It was touching.  Was it true? I have become so cynical now that I suspish (Jamaican for suspect) everything, both good and bad.

But there are people fighting back, trying to protect the rights of those who are under attack.  There are good people protesting unjust actions.  I read of one (mostly white) county in a ‘red’ state where immigrants were being housed in the local jail.  The residents protested on behalf of the immigrants outside of the jail, but also put together ‘care packages’ for the inmates, sending letters with messages of love and friendship, and phone numbers of lawyers.  They contributed funds to the inmates’ accounts, so they could make phone calls and purchase necessities.  Small acts of kindness which can mean so much to those who have been snatched away from their families and their lives.

It is important to find sources of credible information, and for that we have to support independent journalism, and our local NPR stations.  We have to be responsible in what we ‘share’ on social media.  We must be mirrors that reflect light, that magnify the flames of truth and hope that exist.  For if we all keep quiet, if we spread only negative, then hate wins. They may be able to take comedians off the air, but those same comedians will find another venue, another platform.  Hope is like the five-headed hyra, when one head is chopped off, two grow back in its place.  And we cannot give up our rights, our freedom to speak out.

On this Friday morning, despite all of the negativity that abounds, I choose to be hopeful, knowing that above all of the grey clouds there is endless blue sky and a bright sun.  Let us support all of those who are fighting to restore rights for others; who are battling on behalf of conservation; the environment; a just society; the poor; for freedom of speech.  One Hope!

Have a wonderful weekend, Family!

One Love!

Namaste.