Hope and Faith for Change
Do you have HOPE that things will work out?
Do you have FAITH that things will change?
Many Naive Americans very frequently hope that somehow, out of the blue, things will work out. A different expression often used in the same context is to “have faith.” These ways of thinking are quite common in the USA.
From a random on-line dictionary selected from http://www.onelook.com:
HOPE: To have a wish to get or do something or for something to happen or be true, especially something that seems possible or likely.
FAITH: Complete trust or confidence.
I am not going to address the above listed words in the context of religion because it is completely subjective and unfounded.
Naive Americans wish for many things every day. When we were children we probably wished that a particular teacher wouldn’t make it to school because we did not complete our homework. Perhaps we wished we were sick for a day or two in order to miss school and stay home in bed watching TV. Perhaps we wished to call the attention of a specific girl or boy and become good friends. Perhaps we wished that as the holiday season approached, we would receive certain presents. The list goes on and on.
As we get older our wishing behavior continues. We might get up in the morning and wish for lighter traffic. Here in the Twin Cities we might wish for a snow day, especially on a Friday so we can get a three-day weekend. Perhaps we wish that our boss will call us into their office and congratulate us with a promotion or (better yet) with raise. I don’t know about you, but I wish the Vikings would win the Super Bowl. I might hope to win the Powerball lottery and tell my boss the cliché line: “Take this job and shove it”. And finally my favorite one, I hope that our president elect will bring change to America.
Lets spend a few moments reflecting on the few examples we mentioned.
I lived in and around the Twin Cities for decades and, with time, the amount of traffic has gotten worse. If I leave home shortly before 07:00 AM, after my car pooling duties are met, I am able to get to work no later than 07:30 AM during the warm months and about 07:45 AM in the cold months. Darkness and snow tend to slow down commuters. If, for some reason I leave home fifteen minutes later, the same route takes about one hour. I can hope and wish for the best, become an aggressive driver (which I am not) or make sure I leave on time.
Our professional football team, the Vikings have never won a Supper Bowl. I can wish and hope they will do it this year. What is in my power to affect the outcome? Many naive sports fans argue that attending all the games (at least the local ones) will help the players feel their “energy” and improve their game. This is certainly a subjective response. The way the players perform on the field is a direct function of the dedication and training they have as individuals and as a team. The coach may have some effect because he is an observer able to provide a different view. One way or another, it appears that the best prepared team with the best attitude wins. My hopping and wishing are quite irrelevant.
Regarding president-elect Obama, in the past few weeks he has been busy putting together his team / staff for when he takes office next month. Obama was elected because Naive Americans heard his promises for change. Given that things on different fronts have been deteriorating in the US since the early 1950′s the American people are hoping and wishing for change. What the Naive American is wishing and hoping for is that a small group of politicians will come up with plans which would improve the state of affairs in all (at least in most) fronts and the changes will not require pain and work by the country as a whole.
Instead of hoping and wishing someone will solve America’s issues, every Naive American has to change in a way that improves what we do at home, at work, and with strangers, regardless if we are a member of the night cleaning crew in an office building, a third shift union auto worker (I would assume that third shifts are no longer labored), an engineer designing software for medical applications, or the CEO of a company that believes he deserves millions of dollars and flies on the company jet.
Please note that the last paragraph has nothing to do with religion or faith. It just has to do with work, morals and ethics.
