Rebecca Solnit: The Hope Helper

In the past couple of weeks, several of my political allies started feeling hopeless about making a difference. In my efforts to cheer them up, I tell them about Rebecca Solnit, author of Hope in the Dark - Untold Histories, Wild Possiblities, which I read several years ago. It has helped sustain me when the news is consistently grim.

Rebecca was discovered by my favorite blogger, Tom Engelhardt, who has been posting at TomDispatch since shortly after 9/11. He edited Hope in the Dark, and he offers Rebecca the TomDispatch platform for an occasional article.

A sensible blogger, Tom is checking out until after the holidays, but he left us a great gift, "Rebecca Solnit on Hope in Print.” Rebecca shares her “secret library of hope,” 12 books “that offer the reader encouragement not to curl up in despair when faced with a grim world.”

Of the twelve books Rebecca recommends, I’m singling out Adam Hochschild’s Bury the Chains - Prophets and Rebels in the Fight to Free an Empire's Slaves (also edited by Tom) because it has sustained me this past year in my efforts to promote impeachment, considered by many as a hopeless endeavor. I previously posted about it here.
I’ll be away for several days, traveling with my family. My gift to you is to point you in Rebecca Solnit’s direction. She’s the ultimate hope helper.

(Bury the Chains book cover: Quakers in Britain)

Hope in the streets of Washington, DC on September 29 and San Francisco on October 27

I woke up yesterday morning feeling pretty discouraged about the state of our nation, the world of nations, and the melting earth we all inhabit. I’ve been so distracted by the current crises __ the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the likelihood of an attack on Iran __ that I’ve put the biggest threat of all, global warming, on the back burner.

Then I received an e-mail from my friend and political ally, Janie Sheppard, who sent me a link to her brother Bill’s slideshow, set to great music, about the March on Washington on September 29th. The march is the culmination of the weeklong encampment urging Congress to stop the war. Watch the slideshow; if it cheered me up, it’s likely to cheer you up, too.

I then thought of Rebecca Solnit’s wonderful little book, Hope in the Dark. At the beginning of Chapter 4, Rebecca states, “What initially prompted me to write this book was the despair that followed a season of extraordinary peace activism in the spring of 2003.” Her book is a testament to her faith that even when things look so, so dark, one can find hope. Her humor shines through. For instance, chapter 13 is titled “Viagra for Caribou.”

What I remember from reading Solnit’s book in 2004 is her belief that action in the street can make a difference and those of us who participate can experience some joy and lightheartedness. Bill Sheppard’s slideshow and photos of the encampment and preparations for the March on Washington proves to me that we can still stand up, show up, and leave our worry lines and frowns at home.

Since I live in northern California and am mindful of not jetting about and adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, I plan to attend the October 27th End the War - Bring the Troops Home rally in San Francisco.

I don’t know if it matters where you show up, large rallies or standing on the street corner in your town, but showing up matters. It’s time to become visible and protest what the Bush Administration is doing. And while we’re at it, I hope we remember to have a little fun.

(photo of “Cheney” – courtesy of Bill Sheppard; Hope in the Dark book jacket, Amazon.com)