nPostednJune 4, 2013
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| This 1885 painting by George Frederic Watts is called “Hope.” |
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nManynpeople associate the phrase “audacity to hope” with PresidentnBarack Obama because of his 2006 book titled The Audacity of Hope:nThoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream. And U.S. politicsnbeing very polarized these days, some people don’t really like tondeal with anything associated with President Obama.
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nHowever,nthe creators of this holiday assure us that it is about more than thencurrent American president. It is for and about all people, ofnall times—of course Democrats and Republicans and third-party andnno-party Americans, but also people all around the world. n
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nBecause, even when things are bleak, some people keep on keeping on, moving forward. Some people have the audacity to hope that things can be different, better.
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Obama is actually a great example of thenaudacity to hope. If you had suggested to every American adult, innthe year 2002, that a man named Barack Hussein Obama would be electednpresident within the decade, most would’ve said, “You’re crazy.”n(Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was alive back then, and considerednone of America’s and the world’s enemies.) If you had added thatnObama was black, most people would’ve said, “You’re really crazy.”
Obama is actually a great example of thenaudacity to hope. If you had suggested to every American adult, innthe year 2002, that a man named Barack Hussein Obama would be electednpresident within the decade, most would’ve said, “You’re crazy.”n(Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was alive back then, and considerednone of America’s and the world’s enemies.) If you had added thatnObama was black, most people would’ve said, “You’re really crazy.” n
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nAnd if you had added that Obama was in actual fact biracial—with anwhite mother and a black father—a father from Africa, even, not annAmerican—most people would’ve said, “You’re really, reallyncrazy!”
Now, mind you, I am not saying that only racist people would’ve said that that was crazy talk. I think that there wasna general attitude even among people who loved the idea of a black ornbi-racial president that such a candidate would’ve had no hope to winna major-party nomination, let alone a presidential election (letnalone two!). Not then and not any time soon.
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Butnsome people didn’t look at the same situation and think “nonhope.” Some had the audacity to hope that there was a chance! And soon!
Butnsome people didn’t look at the same situation and think “nonhope.” Some had the audacity to hope that there was a chance! And soon!n
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nAndnif those people hadn’t hoped and tried and worked, America wouldnstill be waiting for its first black president!
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nSo,neven if your dreams seem improbable, have the audacity to hope. Andntry. And work.
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nMaybenyou can achieve those dreams, after all!
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nAlsonon this date:
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nQueen’s birthday in Niue
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Anniversarynof Henry Ford’s first test drive
Anniversarynof Henry Ford’s first test driven
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nAnniversarynof the great auk going extinct
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nPlannahead:
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nChecknout my Pinterest pages on Junenholidays, historicalnanniversaries in June,nand Junenbirthdays.
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