What Does Hope Look Like?

A Saturday Prompt

A NewYork protest last month. (Photo by Michael igro/Pacific Press/Light Rocket via Getty Images)

Some days feel like weeks. Several days this week—as Trump spun out his mad-as-a-hatter collection of tariffs, the stock market plunged and the world became more convinced that America has lost its mind—felt like they would never end. And after the shaken markets and worried individual investors saw trillions of dollars evaporate, the indifferent madman was posting “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO GET RICH,” amusing himself on his Doral, Florida golf course and preparing for a weekend of fun with his Saudi buddies and golfing financiers.

Today’s topic could be about fury or madness, sadness or loss, stress and distress, but I’d like to lean into hope. Because even in the darkness, even as the evidence of destruction mounts, we can find signs that this insane chapter is neither monolithic nor will it be never-ending. What are a few of those signs, offering reasons for hope this week?

• There was the record-breaking 25-hour-and-5-minute speech by Sen. Cory Booker, who proved his remarkable endurance and the depth of his commitment in the fight against the Trump regime’s assault on our democratic country. “I rise tonight because I believe sincerely that our country is in crisis,” Booker said in the opening minutes of his call to arms. “The threats to the American people and American democracy are grave and urgent, and we all must do more to stand against them.”

• There was the decisive win of Susan Crawford (55 to 45 percent) to maintain the liberal majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, defeating an extreme Trump-endorsed loyalist and a reported $25 million of Elon Musk’s money. “Today, Wisconsinites fended off an unprecedented attack on our democracy, our fair elections and our Supreme Court,” Judge Crawford said in her victory speech. “Wisconsin stood up and said loudly that justice does not have a price. Our courts are not for sale.” (Add to that the hope-inducing special elections in Florida where GOP candidates may have prevailed, but Democrats beat expectations, creating narrower margins in districts that Republicans had won by massive margins in the 2024 general election.)

• There will be more than 1,200 “Hands Off!” demonstrations across the country in every state today, involving hundreds of thousands of Americans (and maybe more), organized by over 150 groups, including civil rights organizations, labor unions, LGBTQ+ advocates, veterans and fair-elections activists. With some half a million people registered to attend, this is the first big test of the necessary mass mobilization and mass protest since Trump took office again. We will see how the opposition to this Trump regime can benefit from a growing population of Americans who have had enough—who are sickened by Trump’s mad, hateful agenda and ready to discover their collective power.

These are just a handful of examples of what hope looked like this week. So what are you seeing and feeling? What do you think hope looks like? Maybe you want to address something in our body politic or perhaps you’d like to share something more personal from your own family or among your friends and neighbors. Maybe you’d like to share your struggles to maintain a shred of optimism and avoid despair and resignation. Perhaps you have a specific idea of how we can demonstrate opposition.

As always, I look forward to reading your observations and the opportunity for this community to learn from each other. Please do be respectful in your remarks. Trolling will not be tolerated.

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Protests

Voices speak out

People deciding they’ve had enough