Fear or Hope

photo by J Worthington

If you have been paying attention, we are living in a time of great fear in our nation and the world. Wars, natural disasters, hate, political uncertainty have combined to roll over the land like a fog, obstructing our view of the sun and impacting our daily mood. Those of us who spend way too much time scrolling for news or immersed in streamed public affairs commentary are particularly vulnerable to this national and international malaise.

As responsible citizens, a certain amount of this information gathering is what we are supposed to do. Our vote on November 5 needs to be an informed decision, so gleaning the truth from a sea of lies, exaggerations, and selective arguments that define the forest one tree at a time, is our job. But how much time we spend immersed in this information hot tub is a choice. A choice.

One of the most liberating questions we can ask ourselves is this.

Of all the many fearful aspects of our modern world, over which do we have any control?

Given the blessing of liberty and the good fortune of having been born in a country where we can vote, that is an action we can take to substitute hope for fear. While we don’t have control of the ultimate outcome, our vote and our advocacy contribute to that outcome. They give us hope that the sun will break through that fog and brighten our world.

To the extent that our national leadership will have an impact on our reaction to foreign wars, our strategies to mitigate climate change, and our preparedness for national disasters, our choice of who will lead is vital to our transition from fear to hope.

As individuals we often feel that our single vote is too small an answer to all that is fearful in this world.

But as Robert F. Kennedy told the students at the University of Capetown, South Africa on June 6, 1966,

Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.

When we are spiraling into despair, we also must remember that hope is a choice. Hope is a choice that we can make every day.

In a season of fear and despair in our family, I am awakening every day with the words, “This is the day that the Lord hast made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

Finding joy in a season of sadness is much like panning for gold. As you kneel in the cold stream and sift through tens of thousands of grains of gravel, your hands numb from the mindless repetition, the sunlight finally bounces off that shiny little metal surface. Your heart leaps with joy and the discovery affirms the effort, the task, the pain. It was there all along. It was there for the taking. It was waiting for you for centuries.

The surprise of joy and hope is a gift of immeasurable value.

In the runup to a recent doctor’s appointment, I had let my mind run amok over possible outcomes and was having a tough day. To take my mind off my fears, I decided to cut the grass. In a further effort at distraction, I had inserted my Air Pods and had chosen an easy listening playlist. I travelled back and forth across the front lawn focused on the line in front of me and the familiar companion tunes.

Suddenly, with no explanation, my phone skipped off my playlist to a song that I had not heard in many months, if not years. It was a classic from Mama Maybelle Carter and the Carter Family, first recorded in 1928. It was written by Ada Blenkhorn in 1899 and had only circulated the backroads of Appalachia until released by the Carters. It is called Keep on the Sunny Side, and it goes like this:

There’s a dark and troubled side of life

There’s a bright and a sunny side too

Though we meet with the darkness and strife

The sunny side we also may view

Keep on the sunny side, always on the sunny side

Keep on the sunny side of life

It will help us every day, it will brighten all the way

If we keep on the sunny side of life

Not only did this long-forgotten tune begin to play, but it played on repeat which made me shake my head even more. And then this verse:

Let us greet with a song of hope each day

Though the moments be cloudy or fair

Let us trust in our Saviour always

To keep us, every one, in His care.

As I listened and proceeded in my task, I felt a burden lift from my shoulders and a lightness return to my unburdened steps. Maybe a tech glitch, maybe a “God thing”, but whatever the source of this music, it was like the Balm of Gilead poured over my troubled mind. Fear was chased away leaving hope in its place.

If that wasn’t enough, Hayden and I had tickets to the Durham Performing Arts Center (DPAC) that night for a Broadway show entitled & Juliet. We only knew that it was a new version of Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare and had gotten good reviews.

What exploded before our eyes was a wonderful comedic musical featuring an endless list of pop music, dance reviews, and hilarious plot twists. By the end of the night, we were on our feet, dancing and clapping to the music, and cheering to the top of our lungs. I don’t know when I have been to a more uplifting night at the theater. The smiles and happy chatter were universal as we joined the throng walking back to the parking garage. Hayden and I talked about the show all the way home.

Not once did I have the opportunity to fret about my medical appointment or think about myself. Once again, music lifted me out of myself and took me to another place. The Balm of Gilead surrounded me.

As early voting begins in North Carolina tomorrow, our airwaves are filled with political advertising, our streets are cluttered with multi-colored signage (see Sign Sign Everywhere...Nov 4, 2022), and the chatter about the election intensifies. This year, I can objectively say that one side in the presidential contest has branded itself with fear, and the other side with hope. Out with the old and in with the new. Looking back or looking forward.

Whether you embrace those themes is a personal choice.

Probably the most important choice you will make is whether to vote.

Some of you are probably uncomfortable with all the rancor, negative TV ads, and misinformation that has pervaded the run-up to the election.

Aside: In North Carolina, in the wake of the devastation from Hurricane Helene, I find it especially despicable that the former President (and in the last 24 hours, his son) have taken to the airwaves to spread false information about the quality of the emergency response, the intentions of the federal government to seize private land, and other lies that have endangered the lives of the federal, state, and local authorities who are trying to help the homeless, hungry, and dispossessed.

Our discomfort is not an excuse to stay home on election day, because that too is a choice. With the stakes as high as they are in this election, and the margins as slim as they appear to be, not voting seems irresponsible to say the least.

I always consider that little sticker that says I Voted as my lottery ticket for hope. For at least 24 hours (or 48 hours, or 48 days) I can float on the hope that my candidate has won. Without that sticker, I am a spectator and have allowed others to determine the future of my country.

It is also a badge of honor. While I have never shed my own blood to ensure the right to vote, from Bunker Hill to the Edmund Pettis Bridge, other American heroes have, and that sticker honors them. It shows that I respect their sacrifice. It shows that I know that they overcame fear to give us all hope.

So, in conclusion, in a season of fear, trouble, sadness, and hate, where does hope live? What is hope’s address? Where can I find a measure of it to brighten my day?

Is it on your playlist? Is it an action that you will take today? Is it reaching out to others whose world has literally been washed away? Is it making a plan to cast your vote and loving yourself for doing so?

It is all these things and more.

Each fall the North Carolina State Fair takes place in Raleigh. Its mission is to showcase and promote the state’s agriculture, agribusiness, arts, crafts, and culture through this annual multi-day event. Every state feels that their state fair is the best, but North Carolina has an honest shot at the title. This state promotes its agriculture year around with the fall extravaganza, the joyful culmination.

Each year, the fair has a theme.

I smiled the other day when I heard on the radio that this year’s theme is Homegrown Happiness.

Isn’t that ultimately how we replace fear and hate with hope and love? It begins with each of us.

This is the day that the Lord hast made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.