“It is necessary that the weakness of the powerless is transformed into a force capable of announcing justice. For this to happen, a total denouncement of fatalism is necessary. We are transformative beings and not beings for accommodation.” – Paulo Freire
I have spent the last eight months concentrating my studies on hope in it’s broadest sense. This is a hope that is determined and intentional, that goes beyond any box and elevates to the highest levels. I wanted to change my life, and hope became the clearest path to take.
Growing up in circumstances that seemed struggling, as a young adult I became seduced by cynicism. It’s allure was the cool, suave nature that my peers seemed to radiate, and it’s staying power was the indifference it showed towards the situations I was in. Whether I was struggling or celebrating, confused or concrete, cynicism was always there, waiting easily to temper the situation. The seduction to cynicism was it’s fatalism, which couched itself deeply in my oppressed psyche, constantly defeating my attempts at living well.
It seems that hope is a stronger force though.
With kids packed in the car and 1000s of miles of road unfurling before us, I never consciously understood my parents’ motivations when I was a kid – but who does? Parents, in their infinite possibilities, seem to intuitively shroud their decision-making from their children, and my parents were no different. For all the challenges they faced, they trouped onward. Today, I attribute that progress to their hope. While it may have been unconscious at times, there were many times when it came sounding out loud, chasing down the potential disregard of poverty, homelessness, and mental disease.
Today, after a career of promoting anti-fatalism, I am firmly committing myself to, “a total denouncement of fatalism.” I will not accommodate fatalism anymore, and I have learned to reject cynicism. My own life is becoming my playground for transformative action, and I want to take everyone with me.
How about you? Want to find hope?
Adam F.C. Fletcher 