In an adapted excerpt from the Sept. 3 episode of “All In.” Chris Hayes pays tribute to Gloria Steinem. One line that stands out is a quote from Steinem herself:
“You can’t let them take your hope away.”
The opposite of hope could be thought of as folds in a terrible accordion. Resignation, despair, cynicism, and of course, dread and fear.
I grew up in that neighborhood. As Kamala Harris would say, “we’re not going back.”
We are presently in a historical interregnum a la Gramsci: the “old is dying and the new cannot be born”.
And yet it can. If we designate it as hope. We owe this much to Gloria Steinem and to everyone who believes in a better future.
In “Against Pessimism” Gramsci asked what good it would be “if we were… actively optimistic only when the cows were plump, when the situation was favorable”.
Poet, Essayist, Blogger, Journalist, Memoirist, Disability Rights Advocate, Public Speaker, Professor, Syracuse University
