Fear vs. Hope

(Yeah after 2 months I get back into it with a political post, get over it)

Even the most casual of observers can figure out which political affiliation I most frequently side with, but it seems that there is one issue that is more important this election season. To me what is trending to be paramount to the (D) or (R) plastered at the end of a candidate's name is the issue of fear vs. hope. This is not a new debate, especially in political structures, and the modern debate can be traced back to Hobbes and Locke with the argument of man's natural state of inherently evil and inherently good respectively. However, both philosophers regardless of man's natural state, believe in the social contract; the practice of individuals giving up rights to a sovereign in order to afford a comfortable lifestyle. Hobbes and Locke, along with Rousseau, launched the ideals of which America was founded that the sovereign for which individuals gave their rights to, must be derived from the individuals that are governed. I believe that this is the foundation of our government and it still exists today. The differences in opinion and policy can be great in nature, but the ideal of our government is that it is for all of the governed the popular and the unpopular what is right as deemed by the people under the law.

Yet I digress, back to the subject at hand, fear vs. hope. I observe that as an American society our political leaders are drawing into this argument to seek their "service" to the people. Unfortunately I see that both parties are leaning on fear to motivate their campaigns. Both "major" parties are plastering their airwaves with the fear of the other party, or fear of "over government" or fear of "the other" (in the case of  immigration and religious bigotry), it's disgraceful and I for one choose not to partake in the fear mongering and instead wish to foment hope. Yes some will call me an idealist and naive but I don't think I am. In my life when the "carrot" and the "stick" have been used as motivators the "carrot" has always won out. Instead of motivating me with fear when applied, I've always responded with anger at worst and apathy at best. In either case no productive resolution or action was ever made based on the presence of fear.

I must admit that hoping never amounted to much either, but in my experience the presence of hope pushed me to act more than the looming shadow of fear ever did. In my academic life the fear of failure was never more powerful than the hope of respect. In my spiritual life the fear of "hell and damnation" was never more powerful than the hope of love, and acceptance. In my career and work life, the fear of firing never caused me to act more productively than the hopeful words of encouragement of a teammate or of a boss. I think I'm not alone, I know I'm not alone.

So as you think about your choices in this upcoming election, think about what is motivating you to make your choice, is it fear, is it hope, is it something different? I know I will be voting for hope, in the belief that government is good it drives hope, it keeps people together, looks out for the little guy and allows for a unity in shared ideas of "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness."