Good News in These Dark Times

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“May you live in interesting times” has been called an ancient Chinese curse, although it may be of more recent Western origin. Regardless, we are indeed living in interesting times. And at times it does feel like a curse. But I only have my healthcare coverage, retirement accounts, and future liberty and free speech rights to be concerned about, not to mention the future America that my family will be living in. What about someone who’s just been separated from her children by masked ICE agents for the crime of trying to live a better life? What about those who were snatched up for deportation after speaking their minds about genocide being perpetrated in Gaza? And what about those who now find themselves warehoused in a high-security prison in a foreign country without ever having been afforded due process? I never thought the term Kafkaesque would be used to describe life here in the United States, but here we are. We need some good news, don’t we?

My wife is a Christian pastor. Every week that she preaches she knows that somebody listening is wrestling with illness, a death in the family, financial woes, a relationship breakup, loss of a career, etc. She knows she needs to address the darkness occurring “out there” in the wider world. But she also knows that she must convey the “Good News” to those who are right in front of her. In Christian terms, of course, I mean the Gospel.

Buddhism has its own good news. Yes, suffering is everywhere. It’s essentially baked into our existence from the moment we first attach to this construct called the self. But we do have the means to realize liberation. It’s called the Noble Eightfold Path.


Hope in a Prison of Despair


We all need to hear a little good news from time to time. We all need to harbor some hope. The mother needs to believe that she will one day be reunited with her children. Those persecuted for speaking truth to power on behalf of Palestinians need to know that their efforts gave comfort to many and are helping to “move the needle” with respect to public opinion. The prisoner may find meaning in adopting an almost monk-like meditative existence behind prison walls, thereby enjoying some freedom by keeping his mind free of the bars that make prisoners of a sort of almost everyone else.

I hope everyone reading this has a spiritual practice or belief system that keeps them feeling grounded, strong, hopeful, and empowered to go out into the world each day and do what’s right. Those who are not particularly spiritual or religious may also find benefit in practicing mindfulness or expressing gratitude for what is going well for them and their families. But even if none of these potential sources of positivity particularly resonate with you, there are some very good reasons to remain hopeful even in this very dark political climate. In no particular order, here are some that come to mind:

  • The perpetration of this inhumanity is being documented. Yes, what is happening is atrocious, but at least it is being reported. The whole world knows what’s going on. Whereas other authoritarian regimes have tighter control over the press and the availability of information, what is happening in the U.S. is happening in “broad daylight” thanks to a strong press and brave reporting.
  • The destruction of publicly owned information is being documented. Resistance is taking many forms. One important action being taken by subject matter experts is to save off information and data that is otherwise being scrubbed from government (our) websites. Try it yourself sometime by going to the Wayback Machine of the Internet Archive.
  • The courts are doing their part. Congress may be asleep at the wheel or actively enabling the destruction of our democratic institutions, but our court system has so far (generally speaking) acted as it should, checking and balancing the lawbreaking overreach of the Executive Branch.
  • People are speaking out. They are using their free speech rights to call attention to all that is inhumane, unethical, antidemocratic, unconstitutional, and illegal about what is being done. The more people speak out, the more it empowers others and our representatives to speak up for what is right.
  • People, businesses, and institutions are remaining defiant. Yes, many have caved or revealed their complicity with the current administration. Others, however, are standing up for what is right.
  • People are working together. Protests have begun. Warning systems are being improvised in some cities to notify residents of ICE activity. Such resolve seems only to be getting stronger, not weaker.
  • The quiet part is being said out loud. People are showing us who they are without fear or shame in this current climate. We used to wonder how much of public policy was the result of racism, misogyny, and other hateful views. People used to keep their prejudices and ill will out of the public eye for the most part. Now, however, we know exactly what we’re dealing with. Accurate information is useful information.
  • The U.S. population at large is already feeling the pain of the policies being adopted by this administration. Red voters have lost their jobs just as blue ones have. Red voters are paying higher prices because of tariffs just as blue ones are. Red voting families of immigrants are seeing their friends and relatives and neighbors deported just as blue voters are. Funding cuts are hurting red voters and blue ones alike. Any theoretical benefits from these policies are either fantasy or years down the road. This administration will only grow less popular over time.
  • When people hurt enough from the consequences of their actions, they change. Yes, there is an empathy deficit in this country. People don’t vote for their own healthcare to be cut, their own job to be eliminated, their own family to be harassed or deported, their own emergency needs to go ignored. Alas, though, the hardship is being experienced at least in some measure by us all. Support for these policies will erode over time.
  • NATO is rising to the challenge of supplanting American leadership on the world stage. As U.S. resolve on international matters grows fickle and fleeting, NATO seems to be standing strong in its defense of democratic principles.
  • Cracks in the GOP are beginning to show. GOP politicians are actually beginning to display some evidence of having a spine! At present, it is barely cartilaginous, but it’s a start!
  • The emperor is now seen to have no clothes. The tariff policy as pursued so far has resulted in purposeful global economic chaos of an unprecedent nature. If what is happening is not market manipulation for the sake of those with inside knowledge, then it is an incoherent and inept strategy like none seen in modern times. The savvy businessman canard is fooling fewer and fewer people.
  • We are at a tipping point, or close to it. This administration has feigned support for working people, but working people have little to show for it except bragging rights in a so-called war against “wokeness.” Such “results” will not prove worthy of their support for the long term, though. How long can working class GOP voters maintain support for an administration that merely strings them along with empty (or downright harmful) enticements?
  • This current administration is less the result of a political movement than it is the result of a cult of personality led by an individual who is getting on in years and who is not in particularly good health. I am hopeful that the unfortunate circumstances that brought this candidate to the fore will not be duplicated when next the GOP begins searching for a candidate to rally around.

I’m sure this is not an exhaustive accounting of all the reasons we might have hope in this dark political climate. What are your thoughts? What gives you hope in times such as these?


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This post is in the Power, Practice, and Peace series.

Find a running list of all posts in this series by clicking here.

 

Images


Hope in a Prison of Despair by Evelyn De Morgan via:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hope_in_a_Prison_of_Despair.jpg


Copyright 2025 by Mark Robert Frank


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