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Lately, I have been hearing a lot about the word hope and how it has been tossed around in so much anger lately. “Hope for a better future,” “hope for a better America” and so many others like the world has somehow run low on hope, or we are in a hopeless state and that got me thinking: I don’t think that’s true. After a recent conversation I had, I was reminded just how far we have come in our world. Did America forget how far we as a world have come too? There is so much light and hope in the world that emotional and angry people, or attention-seeking, power-hungry people seem to dramatize their anger and trick us into thinking everything is gloom and doom. Why? By no means are we as a planet perfect, or even individually, but we definitely have a lot more love and light in the world than news and television shows let on. Let me show you. Let’s start with hope.

Hope has a lot of different meanings for many different people. For many, hope is to believe in something they think is true or want to be true. For others, hope is a commitment. According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, Hope is “to cherish a desire with anticipation” and “archaic” meaning many different things including, “old and no longer used” or “old and no longer useful” and “relating to ancient times.” Hope is an old or ancient sentiment that still thrives large and strong today. We all have desires; we all have hope as part of our live in some way. Either in the form of our kids, work, friends, future, anything.

One of my personal favorite things about hope is that it can make a huge impact on people’s lives. Lately, I have had some people tell me hope is a bad thing because I would always be disappointed. I have others tell me hope is a beautiful thing because it is what keeps us going. But if you think about it, maybe they are both true. “To cherish a desire with anticipation” maybe that is archaic in a way that people have been doing that since the beginning of time. We all have desires and we all have dreams. We don’t always get what we desire leading to disappointment, but sometimes we do. It is also what drives us to continue down our path in life. When hope Is lost, and we no longer cherish those desires and dreams, it can feel like the world has crashed down. Yet, isn’t that just our emotions tricking us? Is all hope really ever lost? If hope is a desire to cherish, then as you live your life, desires change, we as people change, meaning, there is always hope in some way or another.

Anne Frank once wrote, “It’s really a wonder that I haven’t dropped all my ideals, because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep them, because in spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.” What a profound statement! If you know the story of Anne Frank, then the impact of that statement can run truly deep. She had every reason to be angry, every reason to hate people and every reason to truly see the worst in people, yet she said, “I still believe that people are really good at heart.” How amazing is that? I believe her statement rings true. Look at how we have overcome such dark times for centuries! We now live in a time when people are more accepting in general, and people are more loving.

People are caring more for the rights and safety of others, strangers from other countries are being welcomed in many homes, and when mother nature sends a devastating blow somewhere on our planet, look how many people are willing to step up and help! It’s quite amazing when you start thinking about the world from a new perspective. I am not denying we have problems. I am saying we are giving emotional and mental power to thousands of people by spreading fear, trying to make us forget the good, and only focus on the bad. There already is hope. There already is greatness! I am quite proud to be an American. Not just because I grew up in a country where I am free, but because I grew up in a country where so many people care; even if we do sometimes argue about the best way to fix things.

J.R.R. Tolkien said, “The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair.” The world really has reached a point when there is more love in the world than hate. People seem to just not want to report them as much, or show it because of the attention they are getting stressing everyone out. Yes, there is anger, yes there are people who promote violence, but take a moment, and look for yourself the good that has come from the world lately. The positive aspects, the positive changes, the alliances, the friendships. Sometimes I think things like movies and books all bring us together. We laugh together, we cry together. We don’t always agree, but at the core, I believe that young girl Anne Frank, had an important point and message that still rings true today. I challenge you all to at least think about it.