Prisoner Of Hope

Played two shows this week, in Poole and Oxford. The Poole show was particularly emotional, even more than I expected. I seemed to loose it as I made some comments before singing Arizona Dreams and then basically sobbed and spluttered through the song. It’s interesting the way folk rally round each other in our bitter disappointment. I have had a number of emails from friends offering hope and light, and I have sent messages of the same to various folk, mainly in the USA.I received the following quote of Cornel West by musician Robert David in Montreal.. "Optimism is a notion that there`s sufficient evidence that would allow us to infer that if we keep doing what we`re doing, things will get better. I don`t believe that. I`m a prisoner of hope, that`s something else. Cutting against the grain, against the evidence. William James said it so well in that grand and masterful essay of his of 1879 called "The Sentiment of Rationality," where he talked about faith being the courage to act when doubt is warranted. And that`s what I`m talking about. That hope also means that one keeps keeping on, that one is willing to come together and constitute coalitions, communities, schools, that exemplify what we talk about, that embody democratic principles, that somehow keep a light shining, a democratic light shining in such a dark world. And who knows, history is open-ended. I believe that we do have a chance. But we never know. It depends on the quality of our relations, it depends on the quality of our commitment, it depends on the quality of our courage and vision. If we`re serious about keeping alive the democratic tradition, then we have a chance. " Cornel West I like that line about being a prisoner of hope but it’s hard to feel the ‘hope’ right now. It will be found though, against the evidence, and it will prevail.