Looking For Hope

A lot happened in 2020. There was a virus, lockdowns, riots, political strife, massive corruption, news media coverups, and election fraud. People are frightened over the future. Many are totally hopeless. There are those that place their hope in the idea that the corruption is so clear now that surely the citizenry will wake up and fix it. Though there is some evidence of this, I am skeptical. Every time there is some scandal in the news, pundits say that this will finally be the issue that turns things around, but it never happens. Stupid people never learn. This has been going on my entire life.

Of course, I have been wrong before. Things could get better. We might be on the cusp of a new golden age. In situations like this, it helps to look for reasons to have hope. It helps to look for improvements if they do come. Not only is this important for our emotional health, but it gives us issues to focus our efforts on and thus create a self-fulfilling prophecy. Here is what to look for:

Though the coronavirus was very mild, the next virus might not be. Because of 2020, we will be ready for it. People will finally wash their hands as they should have been all along. Employers will be less likely to insist sick employees come to work. This sounds good.

The lockdowns should have made everyone understand the terror of loneliness such that they begin to do something about it in a way they never have before. People will reach out to those on the margins instead of ignoring them or blaming them for their problems as they have been doing.

The squabble that ensued over the decision to close the borders and the way the Democrats had to reverse their positions so dramatically in less than two weeks should have eroded any credibility they might have still had and ended the debate once and for all whether we need to regulate our borders and who comes through them. Let’s hope that in keeping out viruses, we can also keep out drug dealers, terrorists, and human traffickers.

The riots in the cities and the subsequent rush to buy guns should have ended the gun debate for good as well. More people owning guns should mean more people feeling comfortable allowing others to own guns. The more guns people have, the less of a problem future rioters will be.

The riots in the cities also drove many to move out of the cities. The shifting demographics means fewer people in urban areas represented by Democrats. Districts will be redrawn to give the Republicans an advantage. While leaving any party in power long enough attracts corruption, in the short-term any loss for the Democrats is a win for America.

At the same time, the behavior of the police, both in selectively enforcing lockdowns and taking sides during the riots, should have by now made clear to so-called conservatives that the police are no different than any other part of the government. It has frustrated me for years that those who claim to be against “big government” have such a blind spot when it comes to the police. Look to see if this changes.

The temporary homeschooling that some parents had to do during lockdown should have demonstrated that such a thing is possible and given them an example to follow should they ever want to pull their children out of school in the future. That other parents had to bring the words of the teachers right into their home also made it clear what their children were being taught and exposed some of the propaganda our schools have engaged in. Let’s hope there is both an increase in homeschooling and additional pressure put on our public schools.

Finally, let’s hope that the troubles of this world will start making people yearn for another. Hopeless people are ripe for the hope of the Gospels. Let’s hope for a revival. Then we’ll be able to recognize it when God does act.