A ray of hope against Hatred and Hype (updated after the fold)

Stained glass by Sarah Zirkel, zirkelmosaics.com (Click thumbnail to go to the site)

I often blog about hoping against Hope, but after yesterday’s haunting display of violence, I want to briefly turn to (and then pivot from) the undercurrents that drove that display: Hatred and Hype.

Too much of both has been polluting the dialogue in America for far too long.

That pollution has Consequences. We saw that yesterday.

But on the flip side of Hatred and Hype is authentic hope. From my hoping against Hope essay:

Authentic hope is grounded by healthy skepticism and action, not by a glossy Shepard Fairey poster.

Positive reframing of thought is rethinking things in a way that is constructive rather than destructive. It must be met with a positive reframing of actions — a plan.

Public policy that gestated at the Heritage Foundation before being passed by Democrats is not a plan.

We can’t just close our eyes, imagine a better world, open our eyes to watch as more wealth is transferred to Wall Street, and then expect that better world to somehow spontaneously manifest itself. At the same time, if we close our eyes and see nothing, nothing will ever progress. We need vision to have a plan, and that’s where hope comes in. It has driven humanity against the odds time and time again. Real hope is a call to action.

Real hope is this — “Egypt’s Muslims attend Coptic Christmas mass, serving as ‘human shields’” (from ahram.org, with Yasmine El-Rashidi reporting):

Muslims turned up in droves for the Coptic Christmas mass Thursday night, offering their bodies, and lives, as “shields” to Egypt’s threatened Christian community

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