Radical Optimism, Anyone?

 "I believe this radical optimism is the good news of the gospel and I propose that we take it seriously...Optimism, like pessimism, tends to be a self-justifying outlook. The more pessimistic you are, the more you are likely to fail and thus justify your pessimism. And similarly, the more optimistic you are, the more apt you are to succeed and justify your optimism." - Beatrice Bruteau, in Radical Optimism

If the title of this blog startles you, it's perhaps because the events of the previous week. the previous ten months or even the past four years have laid the table for a meal of doubt and serious concern, rather than for radical optimism. And yet, we have to start telling ourselves a new story, one with heroes as well as anti-heroes, with inspiring winning as well as dastardly doings. 

For me, two Congressional heroes emerged from the chaos of insurrection events on January 6. First, my own Congressional Representative, Jason Crow, who was trapped in the gallery with several dozen other representatives, reporters and capitol police who could not make it out of the chamber in the initial escape. Congressman Crow, an Army veteran, crouched low and went to help his fellows fit their gas masks, and urge them to safety when an escape route was finally found. He was the last person in the chamber, insisting that others leave before him.

Congressman Crow held a telephone town hall last night, which I listened to. He described the events of the insurrection calmly and without drama, full of resolve to investigate the security lapses and the alleged participation of certain police force members and even Congresspeople. He is also full of resolve to work with his fellow representatives to help rebuild this country, to conquer the virus and take back or economy. This includes members who denied the results of the election, who did not support the insurrection but believed the lies that generated it. He said  the only way the disparate sections of our society can come together is to work together, and - when this pandemic is over- to share a beer or a coffee together.

Another hero who emerged from the chaos is Representative Andy Kim , a second-term Democrat of New Jersey. Representative Kim returned to the Capitol building after the certifying vote  and viewed the destruction in the rotunda with horror and dismay. He began to clean the floor of glass, debris and personal belongings, at times alone and on his knees, hard at work until 3 am. He was photographed  hard at work and the image, a beacon of hope, went viral.

We do have heroes fighting for us. One might say that the ten Republican congresspeople who voted to impeach Donald Trump were heroic, standing against the tide of their party and the influence of millions of voters.  President-elect Biden is heroic, standing above the pandemonium incited by Trump and proposing a bold new plan to fight the pandemic and rebuild the economy. And we each have the opportunity to act heroically every day. We aren't followed by photographers and we may be isolated in our homes, but through our attitudes, our words, our interactions, we can begin to generate the fire of radical optimism and show it's warmth to the world. For me, this post represents my rubbing the first two sticks together and I will try to keep that spark glowing.