Argument Paper

Nico Pozsar

Jill Darling

Writing 100

31 October 2014                    

                                                                Argument Paper                   

            Cornel West, a pioneering philosopher, former professor of Afro-American studies at Princeton, and modern civil rights advocate describes hope in his essay Prisoners of Hope.  He presents hope as active; that hope, defined as “To want something to happen or be true and think that it could happen or be true” (Merriam Webster) is not enough. West argues that wanting is never enough, that one must act in order to ever achieve what one hopes will happen, that one must act in order for things to change. He also describes how the appropriate response to oppression is focused, directed rage, which can in turn fuel courage, hopefully resulting in action. The idea of hope is also important philosophically and in reality to pursue practical change by doing.

This idea of hope can manifest itself in a variety of different fashions, ranging from dramatic social change with the collapse of the old Russian government under Vladimir Lenin and his co-revolutionaries, to the broad-sweeping social reform enacted through the help of vast groups of people in the United States during the Civil Rights Movement. I would argue that this sort of active hope is the only hope that can conceivably result in any sort of change. If one only ever thinks, it amounts to nothing. For example, if a  student spends a great deal of time thinking about studying while never studying, he or she will never master the course material. The same can be said for any sort of political or social progress. If all I ever do is yell at C-SPAN, hate republicans, and laugh at political gaffes from the Daily Show with Jon Stewart I will not change anything. Now if I carefully research which candidate I want to vote for, potentially form a civilian action committee to lobby for certain public policies I am in favor of, or a myriad of other political options available to civilians, I personally can help institute change.

            West presents hope as something active in contrast to passive optimism in his essay Prisoners of Hope (West). He writes, “Optimism adopts the role of the spectator who surveys the evidence in order to infer that things are going to get better” (West). He makes the clear statement that optimism “adopts” the role of those who only look at the evidence and then predict that the situation will improve. This contrasts greatly with hope, which “enacts the stance of the participant who actively struggles against the evidence in order to change the deadly tides of wealth inequality, group xenophobia, and personal despair” (West). Clearly, West presents hope as active, struggling against the oppressive society, in contrast to a “passive” optimism which merely hopes for change after surveying the evidence. This is ultimately the same type of optimism which can actually bring change into fruition.  

            Cornel West continues by arguing that rage is the appropriate response to being oppressed. He writes, “I think that rage is an understandable and appropriate response to an absurd situation, namely, black people facing white supremacist power and hegemony” (West). He continues by asking: “How do you channel rage?” (West) The response to this question may largely determine how society receives your social movement. Will one respond with violence and heinous acts of terrorism which will not convince the public of anything, while simultaneously risking death by government action against such terrorist attacks? Or does one walk a more peaceful route, like that walked by Gandhi during his 1930 Dandi Salt March (which resulted in Indian independence from Great Britain) (History), or like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr which he laid out in his time spent in Birmingham prison? Not to say that violence to progress a social cause is necessarily “bad” or “good”.  Occasionally in the point of view of some “radicals”, the people will call unto the deaf ears of the government and violence can become necessary in the form of direct conflict with the state itself (likely in the form of a guerilla war), or in even more extreme cases can manifest itself in violence from non-governmental actors against civilians (i.e. terrorism). The latter stages of the 1789-1790 French Revolution were exceedingly violent, though it did produce greater political equality amongst men in the society, end feudalism, abolish an oppressive monarchy, and create a then extremely rare Republic (Infoplease).

Again notice that neither approach is necessarily “good” nor “bad”, but perhaps more accurately stated: successful depending on the time frame and specific circumstances of each situation. As was the case in the Civil Rights Movement of the United States during the 1960s, peaceful protest through civil rights activists like Martin Luther King and many others resulted in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as well as the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (Encyclopedia Britannica). As King and Malcolm X knew, peaceful protest was the key to success here. In fact, Cornel West alludes to this fact. “Too often it’s manifested in cowardly ways not guided by political consciousness, in self-destructive ways, like physical violence. Malcolm (X)’s great insight, among many, was that we need to have some moral channels through which this rage can flow” (West). Here he reiterates the idea that action must be guided and constructive, and not self-destructive as if often the case with violence over a social issue. Merely consider the failure of the leftist terrorist group The Symbionese Liberation Army during that same time period (The Public Broadcasting Service). Despite several violent attacks and a few bank robberies, ultimately they did very little to alter the status quo (The Public Broadcasting Service). West continues that “This rage needs some targeting and direction. It has to reflect a broad moral vision”, and that “it’s got to be backed up with courage and follow-through” (West). Thus, despite not precisely saying what he believes hope is, West argues that hope must be active as opposed to passive optimism, as well as the need for the rage that is felt to be an integral part of the hope which must in turn be channeled into something productive and positive (West).

            West goes on to describe how one should live and how this shapes one’s hope for pursuing a better, more just world. He notes, “We’ve forgotten that a rich life consists fundamentally of serving others, trying to leave the world a little better than you found it” (West). This by itself has little to do with hope. However, he goes on to say that this leads to personal satisfaction on an individual basis, but it carries over on the societal level (West). As societal consciousness is just individual consciousness multiplied by 300 million, having this exact sort of conviction, to serve others, to leave the world a fundamentally better than when you found it, contributes greatly to the cause of social justice, and therefore a progressive hope. Finally, he writes “Only a new wave of vision, courage, and hope can keep us sane…To live is to wrestle with despair yet never to allow despair to have the last word” (West). Hence he outlines that one should not only be active in hoping, but also that one should remember the necessity of the simple mindset of serving for others can contribute greatly to the cause for hope. Finally, he adds that only hope can keep one sane, and that it is to “wrestle with despair yet never to allow despair to have the last word” that should motivate all hopeful individuals.

            Keeping West’s words in mind, hope is very important for individuals to keep in mind from not only a philosophic, but also pragmatic perspective. Frederick Douglas writes in his narrative, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas, an American Slave, that “I looked forward to a time at which it would be safe for me to escape…I consoled myself with the hope that I should one day have a good chance. Meanwhile I would learn to write” (Douglas). One can see this as not only his keeping hope, but of also being pragmatic, that is, the purpose of hope in reality. Then enslaved Frederick Douglas hoped for a future where he could be free. Without such a hope, it may not have been possible for him to achieve all that he did. This example supports the notion of the importance of hope philosophically as without hope, Douglas would have no reason to live. The fact that his “master” so discouraged reading encouraged him to try and learn to read.  He worked towards education because of its importance. He did not fully understand this, but he understood its importance. This would in turn would motivate him to read in the meantime. Thus, through his education, he developed a belief network to base his life around, a sort of foundation. Due to the presence of such a foundation, again due to reading, he realizes that he should pursue freedom in the long term. He also allows hope to take a pragmatic role in his life, when he keeps it in mind while learning to write. He learns to write because of his hope of freedom, this hope allows him to sustain himself right then, at that moment. As such, hope has served as both an ideal of philosophic importance by motivating him to eventually seek freedom and immediately education, but gave him the ability to keep pressing forward in the present.

Frederick Douglas, teaching himself, teaching America 

            King also expresses similar sentiments in his Letter from Birmingham Jail:

I hope the church as a whole will meet the challenge of this decisive hour. But even if the church does not come to the aid of justice, I have no despair about the future. I have no fear about the outcome of our struggle in Birmingham, even if our motives are at present misunderstood. We will reach the goal of freedom in Birmingham and all over the nation, because the goal of America is freedom (King)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S83jYXYTwHw

Hope here served both the purpose of present motivator and seed from which the Civil Rights Movement grew. Consider first hope as the philosophic backbone from which the movement gained ground. Without the hope which allows him to say: “I have no despair about the future” (King), the same hope which caused him to not give up hope when publishing this letter, nor when marching on Washington and issuing his famous “I have a Dream Speech” (Infoplease). This backbone of hope allowed him to continue his plight, even when change did not happen immediately, or when the movement faced various setbacks. Further consider the same hope which allowed him to continue in the immediate moment, while suffering away in the discomfort of a jail cell. Martin Luther King Jr’s Christianity and idealism served in part as the foundation of hope which motivated him to get involved with the Civil Rights Movement. Thus hope serves not only of the all motivating purpose of the final goal, but it also serves a more pragmatic realistic goal of allowing individuals to continue and suffer through what is happening now, as King did while suffering in a jail cell in Birmingham, Alabama, and what Frederick Douglas did while he was enslaved in Maryland more than 100 years earlier. 

            One contemporary example of hope playing out in an active fashion while seeing its importance philosophically is that of the woman and human rights activist Malala Yousafzai. Malala Yousafzai, born into a rural village in Pakistan, while only 17, is a global advocate for the expansion and importance of women’s education (“Malala Yousafzai Biography”). As what would be considered a “tween” in our culture, Malala organized and composed a blog on the BBC about life under the harsh imposition of Taliban rule. Later on, the Taliban executed a near successful assassination attempt on Malala for her going to school and advocating for other girls do the same. Despite being shot in the head, she miraculously survived after undergoing a series of surgeries (“Malala”). To this day she continues to advocate for women’s education rights around the world, and in 2014 she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (“Malala”). She perfectly encapsulates both the idea an active hope and the idea of hope philosophically. By not just passively “spectating”, waiting for the Taliban to fall out of power, she actively takes a public stance on the importance of women’s education, despite continual death threats from the ruling, ultra-orthodox power. Without this idea of philosophic hope as a foundation, Malala would have no reason to believe conditions in Pakistan would ever improve. However, because of a fundamental belief in the philosophic importance of hope, she is able to use her story and platform to try and change the world through her active hope.

Such thoughts and ideas on hope are still relevant today as the world is not perfect: in fact a great majority, if not all people, could claim a great deal to be wrong with the world and very few of them will ever do anything about it. This is where you, the reader come in. By pursuing and getting involved and active with any kind of social cause: whether it be something political like volunteering for a Congressperson’s campaign, or going down to the Soup Kitchen on Saturday mornings, or getting involved with the World Wildlife Fund to try and raise awareness and lobby for increased environmental protection, is irrelevant. As long as one gets involved, you will find a positive impact not only in your own life and mood, but you will also make the world around you a better place, surely a lofty and worthwhile goal. So, why finish this essay? Go, get involved with any cause that is relevant and important to you and put into action the exact kind of active hope that Cornel West writes and talks about.

Works Cited

“Hope.” Merriam Webster. Encyclopedia Britanica, n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2014. <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hope>

West, Cornel. “Prisoners of Hope.” Alternet. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2014

“French Revolution.” Infoplease. Pearson Education, n.d. Web. 12. October. 2014. < http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/history/french-revolution-effects-revolution.html>

“Salt March.” History. A&E Networks, n.d. Web. 12. October. 2014 < http://www.history.com/topics/salt-march>

“American Civil Rights Movement.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 12 October. 2014. < http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/119368/American-civil-rights-movement/288198/Montgomery-bus-boycott-to-the-Voting-Rights-Act>

“The Rise and Fall of the Symbionese Liberation Army.” The Public Broadcasting Service.  Public Broadcasting Service Online, n.d. Web. 12 October. 2014. < http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/guerrilla/peopleevents/e_kidnapping.html>

Douglas, Frederick. “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas, an American Slave.” Ibiblio. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2014

King, Martin. “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” Liberation Curriculum. N.p, n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2014

“Civil Rights Timeline.” Infoplease. N.p, n.d. Web. 12. Oct. 2014 < http://www.infoplease.com/spot/civilrightstimeline1.html>

“Malala Yousafzai Biography.” Bio. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2014 < http://www.biography.com/people/malala-yousafzai-21362253#after-the-attack>

Reflection on the Argument Paper
I think the theme of having hope not only in terms of a sort of philosophic back bone, but also in terms of having it in one's everyday life has become increasingly important in this world where despair abounds. Without hope it is really difficult to achieve anything. I often find this in my own life as well. I'm applying to the business school, but what if I don't get in? I don't particularly enjoy economics. I just find myself meandering through life hopelessly. It makes studying difficult.  Overall I think I attempted the paper with the right frame of mind.  

To be entirely honest, I'm not sure what I did wrong. I know if I had to do it over again, I would try to write out a more coherent outline, as right now parts of it are done sort of haphazardly, like the bit about impassioned response being neither good nor bad. That was done exclusively to add length to the paper. If I had to do it over again, I would plan out more specifically what I would like to accomplish with each paragraph. Overall I think I approached the paper with the right frame of mind and overall the essay's content is pretty coherent and relevant.