“To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic…
And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.”
― Howard Zinn
I served on the Haines Borough Assembly from 2016-2019. It was pretty rough. Right after I was elected recall petitions circulated for me and two other assembly members. We were liberal. The wrong people voted. Sound familiar? All three of us survived a recall election in 2017 with more votes than we had the first time. I have lived in Haines all my adult life and the experience of having people I knew well, respected and liked (even though our politics were different) lie about me and hurt my family, broke my heart. All my writing up until then had been like love letters to the community. It was awful. But right in the middle of it, my friend George sent me a thank you note for something I did at a meeting, with this quote from historian Howard Zinn, and it gave me hope. I learned that I can run a long way on a little hope. It’s been almost ten years now since my time in public office and I have two lasting legacies. One is the book I wrote, that is ultimately hopeful, Of Bears and Ballots: An Alaskan Adventure in Small-Town Politics. The other is the poster I bought for the assembly chambers during the worst of it. It is still on the chambers wall, and better yet, is still printed on every assembly meeting agenda:
THINK
Before You Speak
T is it True?
H is it Helpful?
I is it Inspiring
N is it Necessary
K is it Kind
I first saw it in the primary school when I was volunteering in my grandchild’s classroom after a particularly nasty public hearing. Shortly after that, another poster appeared at the pool where I swim laps. I figured the adults could use a lesson from the kids. I believe it changed the tone of a few meetings and I hope it still does. Following the failed recall I had two years remaining on my term. I had to work with the people who had tried to oust me. That was a lesson in humility and forgiveness, maybe even mercy. Seasons change. My heart is full. Building a cabin in Tenakee has helped a lot.
Which is a long way of saying that today is the first Sunday in Advent. I’m a fan of Advent calendars, especially the kind with chocolate behind a paper door. This Advent I’m writing a daily, hopefully sweet post, with a photograph and a quote. Sometimes there may be a few thoughts and sometimes there may be a lot of thoughts. The main thing, is there will be something every day.
Advent is the season of waiting for light in the darkness. Today in Tenakee we will have five hours and 24 minutes of daylight. It’s raining and snowing in the gray fog. It’s good to know that the darkest time of the year is also the season of Hope, Faith, Joy and Peace. This week we light a candle for Hope.
My cousin Stewart O’Nan signs his emails Much Love & Hope, because he says, we can’t lose that or we are doomed. I’m gifting myself his new novel Evensong. (Advent is a good season to read.) Evensong takes place in Pittsburgh and revolves around a group of women of a certain age who form the Humpty Dumpty Club to support each other. It’s a love letter about a caring community and the women who make it so– and they sing. What’s more hopeful than that?
