Hope in the Dark
Rebecca Solnit is probably my favorite essayist at this point. I don't agree with everything she says. In fact, my experience of reading her is similar to my experience with LeGuin. It's like having a conversation with a mentor. Someone who has decades more experience than I do, but with whom I can disagree. Someone who gets me thinking.
I'm actually coming around to Solnit's definition of hope and it's reliance on not making any assumptions about the future. I still need to believe that things will get better, but Solnit's definition demands action. I've said before that Octavia Butler taught me, in Earthseed, how to hold despair and hope together in my heart and choose hope. Solnit teaches me again and again what that decision means and how to keep making it on a daily basis.
This collection of essays was actually written when W was president, shortly after we declared war on Iraq. In some ways that feels like a simpler time, though that could just be because I was in high school then and not really thinking about the world the way I do now. Still, the essays remain pertinent.
Solnit urges her readers to take action, to celebrate every victory, no matter how small, but not to rest on their laurels. The fight isn't lost until the moment we think we've won and go home. But so long as we keep fighting, we'll keep winning. Progress is slow, but that doesn't mean that it isn't happening. And every small step is necessary on the path to creating a better world.
I leave Solnit's books feeling energized and full of hope. I think she's the perfect antidote to feeling apathetic or burnt out. So read one of her essays. It won't take long. Then call a senator or write a letter or go to a protest or donate some money. Every little bit helps and every little bit is necessary. The fight never ends, but that's not a reason to give up.
I'm actually coming around to Solnit's definition of hope and it's reliance on not making any assumptions about the future. I still need to believe that things will get better, but Solnit's definition demands action. I've said before that Octavia Butler taught me, in Earthseed, how to hold despair and hope together in my heart and choose hope. Solnit teaches me again and again what that decision means and how to keep making it on a daily basis.
This collection of essays was actually written when W was president, shortly after we declared war on Iraq. In some ways that feels like a simpler time, though that could just be because I was in high school then and not really thinking about the world the way I do now. Still, the essays remain pertinent.
Solnit urges her readers to take action, to celebrate every victory, no matter how small, but not to rest on their laurels. The fight isn't lost until the moment we think we've won and go home. But so long as we keep fighting, we'll keep winning. Progress is slow, but that doesn't mean that it isn't happening. And every small step is necessary on the path to creating a better world.
I leave Solnit's books feeling energized and full of hope. I think she's the perfect antidote to feeling apathetic or burnt out. So read one of her essays. It won't take long. Then call a senator or write a letter or go to a protest or donate some money. Every little bit helps and every little bit is necessary. The fight never ends, but that's not a reason to give up.
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