HOPE Takes on a new meaning

For years I have lived by the motto: “Prepare for the worst but hope for the best.” My cynicism kept me from keeping faith in anyone or anything without concrete evidence. Evaluating the odds and the circumstances with a fine toothcomb was preferable over blind belief and yes, even hope.
There are many people who had no hope for the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team because history had proven the odds were against them.
Many even believed in a mysterious curse on the city. But recently, against the statisticians odds and against many who had lost faith, the Philadelphia Phillies won the World Series igniting a fire throughout our region. It made people finally believe again that anything is possible. Everyone hoped for the best and it happened!
This led me to examine the power of hope. It is an emotional feeling based on dreams. Those without any hope become desperate. Those without any hope become dangerous.
I saw another monumental thing happen this year with the concept of hope in hand, the first black democratic nominee, Sen. Barack Obama.
Studying in school about the Civil Rights Movement, I always questioned my mother if she thought there could be a minority president or even a woman president in her or my lifetime. She would always say, “I hope so.” That answer was never good enough for me. To me, it was a “yes” or “no” question.
In my mind, hope had nothing to do with it. It was the same as me asking to do something or get something and her saying, “We’ll see.” It was the candy-coated “no.”
But now we have amongst the liars and crooks in politics a man who has restored my faith in the power of hope.
In the past few months, I have had the pleasure of hearing him speak in person and I know why people are so passionate about his campaign and message.
Sen. Barack Obama has restored the concept of hope and power of faith. He has made me and so many others excited about the political process. No longer will we accept the batch of lies fed with greed through deceit that we have all become accustomed too.
After awhile, so many people had lost faith and hope in leaders to the point where we have become numb and indifferent.
With Obama’s message and his dream for what America can be - it is impossible not to listen to his speeches and be reminded of the man who inspired so many to accept those who were different.
That man I am referring to is one of the most influential people in our nation’s history. He changed the face of America with his courage. His name was Martin Luther King, Jr. The man who dared us to dream big and who had hope for the future.
Recently, a group of friends from the Reading area took the concept of “hope” and applied its power to baseball with a deliberate nod to Obama. They took the inspiration planted by King and nourished by Obama and out of it sprung a fun idea.
These guys took the word Hope and put it on t-shirts except the “P” wasn’t any “P.” It was the Phillies logo “P.” They added “08” on the back because having hope in 2008 was not a fluffy hippie concept but was made real by this political campaign.
They took their shirts, not having any idea if anyone would buy them, and went down to Philadelphia for the first game in the World Series. Hundreds of fans converged on Penn’s Landing to see the game on the big screen they erected. Braving the bitter cold, these guys sold some shirts with a little bit of hope.
Before they knew it, the shirts exploded. Everyone from networking websites- like Facebook and Myspace- were so excited and requested the t-shirts. Friends and family were buying them, but many strangers in local pubs were impressed with the idea and believed in the concept.
The country gave up on hope for a long time under the George Bush administration and many became indifferent because they felt powerless. Obama has made so many people stop and listen and believe that our votes do count and we could bring about change.
Living through a time when I can explain to my son how change is possible, faith is not unrealistic and hope is not naïve is more than I could ask for.