Recently, America’s our soon-to-be former First lady told a celebrity that after the Presidential election, there is no hope left in our country—or something like that. It was not a memorable quote, or even one that made sense. And it was just plain wrong. The poignant word, hope, a word that every human being recognizes as good, was used to divide—as usual.
Divisiveness, promoted as a false equality, has been used for eight years to push agendas that do not benefit a truly free America, but only pretended to do so for the benefit of the political party formerly in charge. And this is where there has been NO HOPE. Because we cannot hope in something contrived. We cannot hope in something false.
And in those eight years of artificiality, all citizens have been harmed.
But this is can be repaired.
Hope is one of the three theological virtues. Indeed, it is the ‘center’ virtue of the other two–Faith and Love. All three are necessary. If one of these is out of balance in a human being (or a country) then the other two are deeply ‘messed-up.’
Before Hope, must come Faith. The basis for Faith, the first virtue, means to have Faith in something that is always TRUE. For example, a well-made, three-legged stool is steady enough to stand on, but none of us would have faith that we can stand on an unsteady stool with only two legs.
So, the first requirement of faith is that its object must be genuine enough to trust.
Hope comes afterwards. It is our desire for an object, or an objective, that we trust implicitly.
Finally, comes Love. Love is distinctive from Hope, because Love is not desire for something. It is action—an absolute action to procure a desire based on what is true, not false. More than that, Love is commitment. It does not back down, but with courage and empathy, stands strong.
I would suggest that all three–Faith, Hope and Love–have been missing for eight years.
So, despite what the soon-to-be Former First Lady said, we do have hope. We have elected a new president in whom a majority of Americans have expressed overwhelming faith. And now, we hope that his new leadership will be expressed in actions of common sense, and steered by love.
Love of God, Family, Neighbor, and Country. When we sincerely unite behind all these true things, there will be no more divisiveness.
May God continue to bless America.
Translating a World on the Edge 