To the Editor:

I recently had someone tell me they didn’t want to hear or discuss any politics because they wished to remain positive. Hmmmm, I had to think about that one.

Yes, I agree with the need to stay positive. But how do we do that with all the bad news that is rearing its ugly head today? How do we stay involved and aware and still be positive?

Reading the following quote, that happened to pop up on one of my networking services as I was ruminating about this, sent me in the right direction. Here is the anonymous quote:

“There’s a big difference between optimism and hope. Optimism often means shutting one’s eyes to the hard realities around us and hiding out in wishful thinking. Hope means refusing to blink no matter how tough things are, but still seeing what Thomas Merton called “the hidden wholeness” that lies beyond the broken surface of things — seeing and acting on it.”

Yes, the news is horrible: starving children, war, shootings, injustice, racism, sexism, etc., etc. and of course Trump’s dismantling of America. So how do we read about it, watch the news, and keep informed without  growing in negativity? It is depressing!

But — if we ignore it, if we close our eyes to it, so we can remain calm and happy, we assist in its growth.  If we do not help stop it, we become part of the problem. If everyone did that, evil would prevail.

I agree with the quote. We must hear the news, we must be involved, for if not us who then will work for good? We must continue to be informed, as painful as that might be at times.

But along with that, we must view what is happening with hope, hope that we can help fix it, change it, even in a small way. Hope is the positivity inside the pain, the suffering, and the negative. Hope is the strength that escorts us through the despair-filled news photos, the blatant lying, and the suffering all around us. For me, there is no greater positivity than hope.

So when you grow weary, take some time out. Every soldier needs a respite from the battlefield. But please continue to stay informed. Continue to participate in righting the wrongs that plague our world.  Whatever venue is your comfort zone — phone calls, letter-writing or protest marches, etc. — please persist. We need you, we need each other, for that is where our strength rests.

Joan Storey

Guilderland