I take issue with Dan Olson’s column (Herald, Jan. 19) in which he expresses his enthusiasm for Derrick Jensen’s essay, “Beyond Hope.”
Hope is not the opposite of action. The opposite of hope is despair. And when there is despair and hopelessness, there is no action.
A despairing, hopeless person is not an agent for change. If there is no hope for success or making a change, there will be no action.
Yes, we don’t need hope to don our pants in the morning nor to shave, use a fork and spoon, etc. But if I were in physical therapy recovering from a stroke that left me with loss of motor function in my arm, I very well may have hope that some day I would be able to don my pants and use a fork.
Without hope, we despair and do not act. Obama instilled hope in those who were despairing, hope to have a better future through hard work.
Those despairing people understood. Derrick Jensen apparently did not.
H. Louden Kiracofe
Durango
