What Is Hope And Why We Should Worry?

Once Hope is Gone, What is Left? How Can We Continue Without Hope?

“To live without Hope is to Cease to live.”

Fyodor Dostoevsky

No one is born hateful. Hate, prejudice and bigotry are learnt and taught behaviours. So why is there so much hate on a planet of nine billion people? As a species, are humans actually capable of basic humanity towards each other for more than five minutes?

It seems that hate wins votes, hearts and minds. It gets you power, victory and success. It seems hate and aggression give you an edge; whereas being ‘nice,’ caring and wanting to support one’s fellow man is derided and ridiculed as being boring or, these days, simply “woke.” Essentially, hateful people are weaponizing kindness as a negative feeling suggesting that power is built on hatred and division.

So what is hope, and why is it so important?

Definition of Hope

The on-line Oxford languages dictionary describes Hope as: ”a feeling of expectation and desire for a particular thing to happen.” i.e. the expectation of something for the future. This is usually a positive thing in the hope something good will happen or that something bad won’t.

There is a second “Archaic” definition listed. This is : “a feeling of trust”.

That changes the dynamic a little. It engenders a trust that something will happen or that trust is put into someone to do the right thing that gives the expectation of hope.

In human nature and understanding, hope is a vital piece of life. It gives a sense of direction and a sense of meaning to the individual pathway we each follow.

Politicians give hope, they project hope in what they say, especially at election time. In a time of crisis, we expect our politicians and leaders to give us hope. We expect them to give us “a feeling of trust.” We also expect them to use that trust wisely and honestly. It is astonishing to think that the re-election of Donald Trump will mean he does anything wisely or honestly. Yet he projects hope to his followers, as much as he creates despair for the rest. His brand of hope is built on hatred and division to create a false world built on historical fanciful norms.

The Young Need Hope to Help Them Grow

We all, of any age, need hope, but young people in particular rely on hope, especially those who may be more disadvantaged than others. Where they may have less means to support themselves they rely on hope far more. They hope that the welfare system gives them the support they need compared to those in better circumstances.

A thriving society brings hope for more people, because, more people can support themselves and need less welfare support. They are all more hopeful. Once society breaks down and/or is exploited by those who seek to divide its population, that hope reduces, or is (deliberately) removed.

Help is given to some but not others. Resources are directed differently and those who need less, get more and vice versa. To emphasise that division, those who need support are then derided for needing that very support. The ladder of aspiration is slowly removed. Hope exists but becomes a fading light. Those that deride the less fortunate assume they don’t need the support NEVER will. Because, if they do, they are then derided just the same as any other.

The Value And Status of Hope

The value of hope changes with circumstance. For those with wealth, health and less need, hope is more about material things. For those who have neither health nor wealth, their need is more. Hope becomes a much bigger part of their lives, They hope they will stay well, warm, dry, fed, and frankly; alive.

In a functioning society, those in the former category should and can afford to help those in the latter category. What we have in our current system isn’t that. We have ultra capitalism or greed. This plays out as, the more I have, the better I am and the happier I feel as a result. But I will always want more, of course I will. Philanthropy, altruism and simple charity are distant entities. It’s all about what they have now and how much more they can get.

For those less fortunate, it is the opposite. Their need to exist and function as humans is no different to those who are wealthy, but they don’t have the means or resources to function in the same way as the wealthy. Hope is then a powerful and important part of their lives.

Hope as a Powerful Resource

Governments and law makers have power. They have power to both give and remove hope. Add that to whether those law makers are capitalists or philanthropists and the boundaries of hope change.

Some governments recognise there are those less fortunate and need help and support. Those governments’ give resources to create hope and aspiration. Other governments might recognise the need, but then avoid funding the support and deride those who may need it.

A society in “austerity” is much worse for those who need support. This is extenuated if those in power (and they usually are) are not affected by the very austerity they espouse. The “ We are all in it together” mantra rings very hollow.” In terms of the attitude of some, particularly large Corporates, we are essentially in Dickensian Britain in the 21st Century. The last Tory Government played the part of the hateful Scrooge well, they have yet to see the ill in their ways. With the equally Scrooge like Reform Party (limited), it is unlikely they will any time soon.

Governments have the power to literally give and to take away. They have the power to support all of society; but most CHOOSE to support only part. Who they support changes the hopes and fears of the poorest and most needy more than the rest.

Sorry is More Than a Word

Being in government has consequences, long term and life giving or removing consequences. As a result, politicians only ever apologise when they think they have support for the apology and when there are no consequences for them! Usually, they are out of power or are able to apologise for “what the previous government/person did.” A politician will rarely (if ever) apologise for their own actions when in power. To do so is seen as weak or too conceding, making a “U turn.” More often than not an apology at the time is exactly what IS needed.

A politician will say they govern for everyone, but they rarely do. They are influenced by money, power and resources from those who can afford to give those things. They are influenced by events if it suits them. Greed removes empathy, causes blindness, and deafness towards those who are without a voice.

Remember, it is the wealthy who shout the loudest when they seem hard done by, but they should really be shouting for the poorer in society, but they don’t. As a result the struggles and voices of the disadvantaged are more difficult to hear. Remove a voice and you remove hope.

Why Hope Is SO Important

Politicians in power never seem to consider or understand the effects of hope on the decisions they make. Not until it’s too late and its time to make ‘that’ apology.

To deride, divide and fracture society removes hope for those who need it most.

In 2024 we have a divided and frightened population. We have a population emerging from 14 years of Tory austerity and the corruption and cost of the Covid Pandemic. The population is being divided into groups. The divide and conquer strategy.

The 1% have the power, wealth and influence. At the other end of the scale of wealth. the poor, the disadvantaged and disabled people, are ridiculed and portrayed as scroungers and unworthy by governments’ and as being a burden on society for the costs and debt they bring.

Then, there is everyone else who, to some degree or other, has to pay for it. Not only pay for the welfare of those who need it BUT the prosperity of the1% who avoid their share as much as possible and are enabled in doing so due to their own power and influence.

The Young Need Hope to Help Them and Drive Them Forward

For young people looking up at the dizzy heights of a life ahead of them, they need both hope and aspiration. They need support and guidance. For those who are more uncertain, unsure of how they fit into society, where they fit and how they may be perceived, it’s even more of a struggle.

That’s when hope and aspiration are vital to them. They are fighting through a system and perceive a society that hates them, is working against them and wants to remove their rights. They are seen as a disruptor to the “norms” of society and the binary organisation that those in power think society should be.

Just as they seek to emerge into and climb the ladder of society, if hope and aspiration are removed by closing doors and pathways, what is left to them?

This is exactly what is happening to trans and disable people in the UK and other parts of the world right now. Hope is being actively, deliberately and maliciously removed.

But Why?

Why, because of greed, and an unwavering biased interpretation of a book of fiction. Not the orphan wizard but one of a sky spirit who is held as sacrosanct. When actually what we should be taking is a series of lessons and principles and not if the sky spirit said who can or can’t sleep next to each other.

Don’t forget the authors of Project 2025 and those of a document in a similar vein published by the Tory Conservatives 2030 Renewal2030.org.uk want power and control. It’s always about power and control.

Global corporations want power and control, they want your data, your information so they can control you more. Why, because YOUR information is valuable to THEM both in its intrinsic content and its financial value.

It’s about money again isn’t it? In the USA, health companies deny claims for treatment and medication of the sick and needy. They deny something that is necessary, vital and paid for by the consumer. They do this to increase profits for themselves. They do this to appease shareholders and owners alike. Their actions are about profit and not about service. Their profit harms and removes hope from the very same people that rely on the service they are supposed to provide. It is literally a matter of life and death after profit.

Once you remove hope, there is only darkness where there was once light. Hope is a fundamental concept in human nature and one which can be controlled by those who seek control through hatred and division.

The consequences of removing hope are dire for those affected. Everyone has a responsibility to retain hope especially for those who have little. Hope keeps people alive. If only politicians understood that; to the extent they really understood what the consequences were.

There are people dying as a direct result of politicians’ decisions. Aside from war, decisions they “feel are right” but that are made on the back of power and influence. Decisions made in haste and without 

proper thought and consideration. Decisions made through greed, corruption, misinformation and misguided belief. Decisions made from simply not listening. The outcome of most scandals involving companies and governments are because the people who should have listened, didn’t. The fact they didn’t was a deliberate action to avoid the retribution that would eventually come to them. By then, it’s far too late and the damage is done.

The Law Removes Hope

Two such powerful examples are, 1) the overturning of Roe v Wade in the US and, 2) the (temporary) ban on Puberty blockers in the UK.

The Overturning of Roe v Wade

The loss of Roe v Wade (June 2022)  Roe v. Wade Case Summary: What You Need to Know – FindLaw     directly gave the ability of State Senates to create laws that removed the direct rights of women to make decisions about their own bodies. Deliberate targeted action despite objection, facts and known consequences. Not only that, but laws that deny pregnant women access to medical care to the extent that their death is seen as better than to allow them the medical intervention they desperately need. This irrespective of the cause of the pregnancy AND the consequences from a failure of that pregnancy.

The removal of Roe v Wade affects 50% (or so) of the US population but targets a small percentage of those who are or maybe pregnant.

What it has done is create fear from “what if my pregnancy fails” and if it does, essentially removes hope of anything or much being done! Why? Power and belief from control. Removal of hope from an insidious decision brought about by power, influence and money. A judgement that was not needed, except by those and from the control it gives. As stated by the former US Attorney General (Kamala Harris)  Can you think of any law that gives the government the power to make a decision about a man’s body?

Immediately after the 2024 US election, this misogyny has become the “Your body my Choice” rhetoric, where (some) men are deliberately taking that as a right to invade women’s personal space as they please and for nefarious means. Simply because they feel that Trump has given them that sanction. Women’s hopes dashed and turned into fear

The Puberty Blocker Ban

The (UK) Puberty Blocker ban (July 2024) Puberty blockers ban is lawful, says High Court – BBC News  is a direct attack on the UK trans youth population. The ban, initially made in the dying seconds of a hateful and much despised Tory Government by Victoria Atkins MP, BUT now extended, TWICE, by the current Labour administration. Not only that, they have sought to close loopholes in the initial Tory ban by including Northern Ireland.

On 11th December 2024, The (Labour) Secretary of Sate for Health, Wes Streeting MP stood and announced in the House of Commons that the Puberty Blocker ban would be indefinitely extended .UK health secretary confirms ban on puberty blockers | ITV News. No vote, just an announcement. This will come into force from 1st January 2025.

The ban will be reviewed in 2027, at the time the results of an, as yet unannounced, unspecified, not started compulsory drugs trial would be released. Wes Streeting says he is “relying” on “professional” advice and the contents of the Cass Review. The same Cass Review that has been discredited globally by august professional medical bodies and may yet be denounced by the the BMA (Their vote is awaited).

The Puberty blocker ban is supposedly because of “fears” of long-term health issues occurring in later life from the drugs used to delay puberty. All because of a “lack of evidence” and the ability and exuberant willingness to use a globally condemned vehicle in the Cass Report to “justify” the implementing of the ban. Except that Cass didn’t recommend a ban!! She didn’t then and doesn’t now.

He has chosen to rely on flawed reports and reviews. We know this because we know information that should have been in it wasn’t as it was excluded to improve its outcome. 

The DIRECT consequence of the ban, allegedly imposed to “save lives” in the future is currently and directly causing affected young people to end theirs.

Both examples are consequences of those in power on those who are disadvantaged and/or targeted. Direct and attributable consequences! The consequence of the removal of Hope. Both are as a result of a deliberate failure to listen and to ignore the one side of the argument that causes issues for the justification of the ban. In both cases  those involved in making the ban are removed from the direct effects of the legislation they bring.

In the case of Roe, most legislators calling for the ban are male and unaffected by the ban. They don’t understand what the ban means and how the laws and regulations imposed surrounding the ban affect women’s lives daily. In the PB ban, there’s is an emerging close tie between those involved in commissioning, preparing and voting on reports and documents prepared for and “relied upon” and “professional advice” to justify the ban. A worryingly lack of independence and accountability close tie between individuals. None of those people are Trans nor have they had direct connections with Trans people. Surely its a pure coincidence, obviously.

But…is There Hope?

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

To achieve this, people need to be empowered with Hope. We need to pick up and carry hope. We need to take with us the legacy of hope left by those who felt there was none left, carry it, nurture it and make it grow and thrive. More than ever, Hope has to be used as an inspiration to fight back and not as a weapon of control. Lift hope above your head and let it shine on others and fill them with the power of hope. Let it multiply and build a wave of hope. Seize and use the power of hope for good.

Without the Power of Hope, We Cannot Hope to Strive with Power.