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It is enough for now. It’s not another war. No more murder, destruction, hatred. Is it necessary to put an end to horror news? Somehow things are getting worse now. And yet they say: Hope dies last. And that’s good.
“If you lose hope, you can bury everything: your own ideas, your wishes, your ideas,” says economist and HSG professor Andreas M. Krafft, 57, who is considered a star in hope research. A person without hope becomes depressed, lacks self-confidence, and sees life as meaningless.
Critical mass of desperate people
If the number of people who have no prospects for the future reaches a critical mass, society will change for the worse. This was also observed in Switzerland in the second pandemic year of 2021, when people were fed up with the Corona measures and there was no improvement in sight: solidarity and harmony decreased, distrust, tension and conflict increased even more.
So it’s a good thing that hope dies last. “Even in difficult situations, we will continue to hope because we have no choice. Hope is a part of our human existence, just like fear and anxiety,” says Krafft.
Hope as a field of empirical research is relatively new. While philosophy has been interested in hope for centuries, both nursing science and psychology have only been doing so since the 1980s. The Swissfuture Institute has been measuring hope values annually since 2009 using empirical surveys among the Swiss population.
Barometer of hope and the epidemic
The so-called hope barometer was able to depict social tensions in the second pandemic year of 2021: the ability to hope had decreased compared to previous years.
What Andreas M. Krafft finds more interesting is what happened at the individual and social level in the first year of the global crisis in 2020: the level of hope increased.
Co-chairman of Swissfuture and working director of the Barometer of Hope explains: “There was a feeling of ‘especially now’. People had hope that we could overcome the pandemic and the resulting isolation. This was reflected in the growing solidarity and desire to help.”
It is an example of how we as humans believe in positive development. I want to believe.
Optimism is not hope
But this has nothing to do with optimism. According to French philosopher Corine Pelluchon (55), hope is the opposite of optimism, as she recently said in the SRF program “Sternstunde Philosophy”. Optimism is like a mask of denial because it makes you believe that you know the solution to all problems. Hope requires awareness of difficulties.
Therefore, hope is unrealistic and not based on a naive assumption that “everything will be okay.” Hope has a connection with reality, perceives obstacles and problems. He sees the possibility that things may not go well. But it is still the engine of change. We act with a sincere desire and the belief that the realization of this wish is possible through self-sufficiency, harmony and cooperation.
How is hope portrayed?
In the picture book “Hope” by Corrinne Averiss, Finn worries about his sick dog. He retreats to his room and hides in a tent in the dark. His father says now they can still hope. He shines his flashlight towards the black and says: “Hope is the little light that stays on even when everything around is dark.” Hope as a glimmer of light – an often used image.
American poet Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) envisions hope in a completely different way: In her poem “Hope is the thing with feathers”, she describes hope as a little bird that flutters its wings, sits on the soul and sings even more beautifully to the wind. It blows harder.
On the other hand, according to Krafft, the rainbow is the strongest symbol of hope: “With the rainbow, the darkness is still there, but a ray of sunlight reveals new and beautiful perspectives. Crises can help you find the best in yourself.”
Hopelessness in young people
And yet. Major crises leave their mark. Especially with young people. Research shows that the ability to hope increases with age. It grows with life. With the setbacks and crises experienced. With the experience he still continues.
Young people do not yet have this wealth of experience; This explains why they feel a strong sense of lack of hope, especially in the face of the climate crisis, and are paralyzed by a lack of self-efficacy. Philosopher Pelluchon says: “Children who suffer from such fears do not have a mental illness that requires consulting a psychiatrist.” Fears are justified, psychological breakdown is a normal reaction to today’s situation. “This is the opposite of denial.”
Andreas M. Krafft says that the greatest gift parents can give to their children is to believe in them. “Parents should always convey this to their children: I believe in you, I trust you.” It also helps children and teenagers if parents are consciously careful not to talk about negative things all the time. “If we always talk about the bad things in the world, we will be constantly negative. That’s why it’s also important to talk about good things.”
sources of hope
The role of parents and relatives should not be underestimated. The Hope Barometer shows that family and friends are important sources of hope. Just like nature, being one with mountains, forests and lakes. Other people find hope in the experience of helping others. In non-European countries, faith and prayer are central sources of hope.
The greatest enemy of hope is loneliness. Research shows that people who feel rejected and misunderstood have lower levels of hope and are more likely to experience fear of the future and depression.
What does the story of hope teach?
A look at the history of hope is illuminating; It is encouraging and sobering at the same time. Because, on the one hand, it shows that we, as humanity, have always made improvements. But: it was difficult.
“Every century had its own hopes,” says Krafft. In the 17th century, people were driven by hope for truth, science and knowledge. In the 18th century there was hope for freedom, in the 19th century there was hope for material prosperity. In the 20th century, the hope of justice and equal treatment was central. “We humans have achieved all of this. But it always took 80 to 100 years.”
And it’s not like there’s no Sunday walk. To achieve freedom, the French Revolution and the American War of Independence had to happen. Therefore, according to Andreas M. Krafft, it is important to think in broader cycles. As people of the 21st century, if we focus on the hope of peace and sustainability, we must do so from a perspective that transcends ourselves. “This is about the situation we want to achieve for our children and grandchildren.”
Rapid progress unlikely
Even if we collectively want crises and wars to be resolved better today than tomorrow, when we look at history we see that rapid progress is unlikely. According to Andreas M. Krafft, it is a realistic scenario that the situation in the world will not improve in the short term, but will worsen.
He once wrote in an article: “If we lose hope for a sustainable world of harmony and peace, then failure is not only probable but certain. But as long as we keep our hopes high, we will do something about it and make it possible again for our deepest wishes to come true. It is clear: we have no choice but to hope.
Source : Blick
I am Dawid Malan, a news reporter for 24 Instant News. I specialize in celebrity and entertainment news, writing stories that capture the attention of readers from all walks of life. My work has been featured in some of the world’s leading publications and I am passionate about delivering quality content to my readers.
