Refusing to be hopeless

Submitted by Judy K. Ball, Morgantown, WV

What does hopeless look like?

The American Revolution. In 1776, a band of audacious white men gathered during a hot Philadelphia summer and decided to declare independence for 13 British colonies from their King. What were they thinking? Local militias came together to form a ragtag army to fight the king’s forces. They adopted ungentlemanly, guerilla tactics in battle. They lost as many (or more) battles as they won. The hopeless endeavor dragged on for eight and a half years. Until the mighty British surrendered, and an independent United States of America was realized.

Dunkirk. In May 1940, the entire Allied Army in Western Europe found itself pushed to the sea and surrounded by Nazi forces. A rapidly assembled fleet — including virtually anything that would float, from naval destroyers to fishing boats to private yachts and pleasure craft, more than 900 vessels in all — managed to evacuate more than 330,000 Allied forces to safety across the English Channel in just a few days. Britain, then completely isolated and without any free European allies, managed to survive the Blitz and not starve, until America entered the war after December 1941. Without their steadfast leader, Winston Churchill, the British people might have been hopeless. Until May 1945, when Germany surrendered unconditionally.

School desegregation in the American South. One Supreme Court decision — Plessy v Ferguson (1896) — made racial segregation the law of the land. That ruling stood for 58 years, when a different Supreme Court ruled unanimously that racial segregation in public education was, in fact, unconstitutional. Separate was recognized to be unequal in the eyes of the law. But some states refused to comply. Then, recall little Ruby Bridges being escorted by Federal Marshals into her elementary school in New Orleans in 1960. The system of American racial apartheid that pre-dated the Revolution had often seemed hopeless. Until the enforcement of Brown v Board of Education (1954).

Voting rights. In March 1965, civil rights protesters assembled in Selma, Alabama, intending to walk peacefully from Selma to Montgomery, the state capital, 50+ miles away. Their goal was to non-violently protest Black Americans being denied the right to vote. When the protesters crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge, they were met with state and local law enforcement wielding clubs. Brutality against Black citizens was not new, so the status quo appeared to be hopeless. Until the images of Bloody Sunday captured by the news media that day shocked the Nation. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Johnson in August 1965, just five months later.

Same-sex marriage. Over time, some states cobbled together laws to recognize civil unions or domestic partnerships, but those arrangements afforded no universal protections or privileges for same-sex couples across states or nationally. When Barack Obama became President in 2009 he had a long history opposing “gay marriage,” despite positions supporting LGBTQ and other civil rights. The goal of achieving same-sex marriage rights was obviously hopeless. Then, in 2012, Vice President Joe Biden announced publicly his support for same-sex marriage, and soon thereafter the President followed suit. But no law had changed. Until Obergefell v Hodges (2015), when the Supreme Court ruled that all states must license marriages between same-sex couples and recognize such marriages performed in other states.

Ukraine. In 2022, all the signs of an impending Russian invasion of Ukraine were blinking red. “Everyone,” including Ukraine’s closest allies, knew that Ukraine would be overrun and the Russians would be celebrating in Kiev within a few days. Clearly, this situation was hopeless. Until it wasn’t. For three years, Ukrainians have fought and died and seen their cities destroyed. They have endured hardship and war crimes. But they have been creative, bold, and resourceful, not only retaining most of their territory, but also their independence as a sovereign nation. Now they fight on two fronts: the Russians on one; a turncoat American former ally on the other. Hopeless again? Given the last three years, it would be foolhardy to count them out.

Now, in the United States

At the local, state, and Federal levels, many of our friends, families, neighbors, colleagues, and acquaintances see situations they believe to be hopeless. The enemy within relies on that belief to succeed, persist, and destroy.

Hopefully (pun intended), the above examples of hopelessness from long-ago and more current history help shine a light into some of those dark corners. The lessons: Even the most hopeless situations can be overcome.

But hopelessness thrives in isolation and community failure, that is, when people cannot or will not come together. Making common cause is essential. In every one of the examples, people — regular people — came together literally to create hope where none might have existed otherwise.

Truly, hopelessness is not an equal opportunity condition. For the Federal government, where you live may mean different impacts. There is a huge concentration of Federal employees in and around Washington, DC. But, in fact, there are federal installations in virtually every nook and cranny of this country and around the world. And beneficiaries of Federal programs and Federal taxpayers are literally everywhere.

For state and local governments, there may be more variability. Some states, like California and New York, contribute more to the Federal coffers than they get back. In fact, with their resources, they are more able to be independent. For poor states, the pipeline runs in the opposite direction. States like Mississippi and West Virginia depend (literally) on Federal funding for healthcare, benefits for their poorest citizens, benefits for the elderly, and disaster recovery, to name just a few critical items. States and localities also depend on their Federal employees continuing to be employed, paying taxes, and contributing to local economies.

So what can an ordinary, regular citizen do?

First, remember that hopelessness is a feeling, based on a belief. If you find yourself in the dark, turn on a light. If all you consume is bad news (there’s plenty of that to go around), try a healthier news diet. If you’re surrounded by naysayers and defeatists, try engaging with other people, groups, organizations that have a positive purpose. And the purpose need not be partisan. Try adhering to principles, not parties. Grassroots organizations (or organizing), even nonpartisan ones, can be energizing. Try it!

Second, rely on the power in numbers. One voice often isn’t enough to be heard over the cacophony of chaos. Become part of a choir. If you don’t approve of what your Representatives or Senators in Congress (or your state Legislature) are doing, make your own noise: call them, write to them, express your dissatisfaction. Do it often. They count those calls and emails. Light up those switchboards! Fill those inboxes! Recall that the Affordable Care Act is still with us because of the grassroots outcry over attempts to repeal it.

Third, depend on proven techniques. Perhaps the most inspirational and also practical guide is a little book called On Tyranny, by Timothy Snyder, a historian at Yale. Twenty simple lessons to resist tyranny. Find a copy, get a personal copy. Read it. Carry it with you. Use it for guidance. Act on its lessons.

Fourth, tell stories. Bad policy and bad actions harm good people, whose stories are important and inspirational. Telling stories can be quiet actions, an oft overlooked aspect of resistance. Legislation and politicians are not just nameless and faceless; their impacts are real. Their actions can harm ordinary people. Find ways to get real stories out about those people. Remember the impact of seeing and hearing immigrant children in cages? Remember the impact of those brutal images from Bloody Sunday. Stories and images are frequently the most effective way to push back. To get those stories out, use any or all outlets available to you. Shine that light to pierce the darkness in your community, in letters to the editor, in civic and other community gatherings, in discussions with your neighbors, in town halls. Shine that light everywhere you go.

We can combat that veil of hopeless. We must.