Reply #21: Hope and confidence can be elusive . . .

[pat_k]

. . . and there are times that I find myself falling into despair. But hope is the key to action (and action the key to hope), so when I feel hopeful I try to spread it around a bit.

These days my hope is rooted in the progress I've seen in the past three years. I know that that probably sound nuts to you, but if you had plucked me up in February 2003 and plunked me down today, I would be thrilled with the changes.

By February 2003, I felt like I had finally been beaten into permanent silence by a world that had seemingly gone stark, raving, mad. After more than a year of seeking sanity somewhere, I had stopped reading newspapers, talking politics, watching TV, listening to the radio.

Today, a search in Google for Impeach Bush gets hits -- the only hits that came up at the end of 2002 were somehow related to Nixon or their failed attempt to impeach Clinton. In today's New Yorker, Jane Mayer's "The Memo" demonstrates the very best in journalism -- something that seemed to have completely disappeared by the end of 2002. This issue of Harpers has a fantastic article on the Case for Impeachment. Back at the beginning of 2003 it seemed like the groups I had connected with in the fight against the theft of the 2000 election had completely packed it in. Today, I have tickets to Harpers "Case for Impeachment" event in NYC on Thursday.

We are forward looking creatures. We are wired to be on the lookout for the next challenge; we aren't so hot at keeping track of the progress we make over time. When I do look back, I see some pretty great things.

Sen. Boxer stood with Rep. Tubbs-Jones on January 6th, 2005 and objected to the Ohio electors. In 2001, we had 100 Senators complicit with the theft of that election. Having one Senator shed the bonds of complicity in 2005 was an incredible victory that EVERYONE told us would NEVER happen. Throughout the past three years, John Conyers has been a beacon of light and hope in the fight against fraudulent elections, voter suppression, Bush Syndicate War Crimes, and on and on. Harry Reid has done some gutsy things too, like shutting down the Senate, a move that seemed out of the realm of possibility not long ago. (That great photo of him is pinned up in my office).

The incredible increase in citizen participation in the various 2004 campaigns has left a great legacy. Countless neighborhood, regional, and national groups that came together then have survived and grown. People are turning their complaints into concrete action.

Every time I hear someone at a meeting or event say some variation of "I've never done anything like this, but I just had to do something," my hope grows because ultimately, taking our country back means driving decisions from the bottom up. When people on the "bottom" who have never been prompted to act before start making noise and standing up "because I had to do something," that's when things start turning around.

As hard as it is to witness the level apathy that persists, I'm not frustrated with the Americans who remain alienated and apathetic. Most have internalized the immobilizing belief that solving our common problems is not something they can participate in -- or they believe that nothing they can do would make a difference. Given their beliefs, I don't expect them to be anything but willfully ignorant. People always avoid looking at problems they believe they are powerless to solve.

Their apathy doesn't undermine my hope because I know that people can shift overnight. People have a basic need to contribute and be effective. Belief in powerlessness can block that drive, but the belief that there is "nothing I can do" can disappear in an instant and completely change the dynamics.

I also don't tend to be disillusioned with elected officials and candidates who fail us, because I don't see them helping us increase our power and influence with them. For that, I look to my fellow citizens. As we connect with each other to lobby for Impeachment or to support candidates who believe in "people power," I firmly believe that we will create powerful associations that endure beyond any specific campaign.

We don't need a movement, we just need to move -- and I am seeing more people join the ranks of the "moving" everyday.

For what it's worth, that's what I'm smokin' -- if anything in here helps to fan your spark of hope, let me know. Perhaps it will help others.