What Is Your Hope for America?

A Saturday prompt

I had the idea for today’s topic—on our hopes for America—before Donald Trump fulfilled my dark expectation that he would get worse as the election neared, especially if he thought he was losing. His depraved public fantasizing about Liz Cheney being shot by nine rifles trained at her face was rightly called out by Kamala Harris. “This must be disqualifying,” the vice president told reporters. "Anyone who wants to be president of the United States who uses that kind of violent rhetoric is clearly disqualified and unqualified to be president.”

I’d go further to assert that this violent fantasizing—obvious threats to the former Wyoming congresswoman who has been one of Trump’s fiercest and most fearless critics—should cause this convicted felon to be taken into custody for the public’s safety. (Yes, I know, he won’t be.) Now, three days from Election Day, we must ask: If he can’t control his sick, violent impulses now, imagine how he’ll be if he were to get back in power, with his sadistic hunger for vengeance and full license provided by the Supreme Court supermajority? And what would it say about our fellow Americans if they ignore such utterly disgusting and irresponsible behavior and return this man to the highest office in our land?

These critical questions invite another more existential one: What is this is all for? Yes, the danger of Trump necessitates that our votes stop him from retaking power. That’s surely one overwhelming hope of mine and millions of others—to free our nation held hostage by one man’s extreme malignancy and fascistic desires, enabled by a tragically unprincipled Republican party. But let’s also pause to imagine not just the rejection—indeed the expulsion—of this negative force, but also what positive changes we seek for a better life.

Perhaps you hope for securing reproductive freedom and women’s health—to ensure that women can control their own bodies. Perhaps you hope for finally passing comprehensive immigration reform and stopping this endless demonizing of immigrants who almost exclusively come to America for a better life. Maybe you hope to improve our education system to increase our population of educated citizens who understand the basics of democracy and civics and the ingredients of our Constitution. Maybe you want a more full-blooded national commitment to confronting the existential threat of global climate change. Perhaps you hope to see more affordable housing, health care and greater financial security for Americans. Perhaps you hope America plays a successful role in achieving a cease-fire in Gaza, securing a peaceful Middle East and seeing an end to the war in Ukraine with its sovereignty and democracy intact.

As long as we’re expressing our greatest hopes, how about lessening or even overcoming the stranglehold of racism and unequal justice that has undermined our capacity for success and divided the country from its earliest days? Why not hope for overcoming what VP Harris described from the Ellipse Tuesday night as a nation “consumed with too much division, chaos and mutual distrust” and remember that “we rise and fall together”? How about—for crying out loud—a more joyful future in the months and years ahead? Is that too much to ask? And can we begin with a victory from the only qualified presidential candidate who not only promises but exudes joyfulness?

So what do you think? What is your hope for America? Perhaps you want to share your hopes for the days ahead or maybe you’d like to imagine a better future years or decades from now. Feel free to be perfectly concrete or utterly expansive in your envisioning.

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

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*Photo of Vice President Kamala Harris and a young girl in Pittsburgh, PA, on Sept. 2, 2024. Photo by Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images.