The word is used with such frequency and frivolity that it has taken on a new Oprah-like meaning, simply, a general permission to feel good. One might even conclude it is a universally desirable condition, an end in and of itself. “Someday I want to be very hopeful!?!”

Why do I have this nagging feeling that the word has become void of real meaning, or has taken a distorted meaning, or something? What is wrong with me? Why should I question the, ahem, good intentions of those who use the word to bring so much… well, whatever it brings?

With the word used so frequently, wouldn’t it be helpful to know exactly what it is?

We can quickly see that ‘hope’ is used both as a noun, as in, “I have a lot of hope today!”, and a verb, as in, “I hope to get a pay raise at work.”

The verb usage seems to make more sense. It qualifies the word with a logical condition. For example, “We hope to find a cure for cancer.” The context is clarified and, though desperately, justifies the usage.  In other words, we desire (wish, want, etc) the opposite of something bad.

But to the contrary, would we ever say, “We hope?”, period, without any prior context to illuminate the condition we desire?  Why would we? Why would we ever say blankly, “I really hope today”? This is like saying, “I really wish today.” This makes no sense.

In a similar oddity, why would a bumper sticker merely read, “Got Hope”, as if what we are all striving for is the condition of being hopeful.  Is that what we want, just to be hopeful? 

Why not a better choice of words to reveal whatever truth it intends to offer, rather than skirting around in some fluffy ambiguous way?

It seems to me that using "hope" as a noun is nothing more than a trendy feel-good-ism (did I just contradict myself?).

The paradox of the word is also striking. As long as we have hope, we should be very unhappy! For if we were happy about our current or future conditions(s) what would we need hope for? Hope is unbreakably linked to despair. Even the most innocuous use of the word refers indirectly to its opposite meaning, unhappiness, or something undesirable.

So the next time you are feeling hopeful, well, please accept my condolences.

Now, I know it seems like I’m playing a game with words. Indeed, many words are strongly linked to their opposite intention. Love – Hate. Good – Bad. Liberal – Tyranny. But is there such a word that is more strongly connected to its opposite meaning than ‘hope’? Even when it is used in a culturally watered down way, it still conveys a cloud of bitter sweetness.

You might think I am in denial of real despair and the need for hope. To the contrary, I am acutely disturbed by the suffering of people. Sometimes hope is the only thing someone has to keep going. So if the mental state of hope, in whatever form, serves as an opiate, then great. But why would anyone choose or seek to be in that position? How could being hopeful be a desirable condition? It cannot unless one first accepts a state of despair.  And who knows this better than Obama?

In his inauguration, Barack Obama proudly exclaimed that we have ‘chosen hope’ (by choosing him, naturally). It occurred to me that he was gently leading America through its last in a series of therapy sessions. Americans, Obama suggests, has triumphantly graduated into the acceptance stage of despair (despair in the form of John McCain, President Bush, low taxes, or whatever) and has now humbly embraced its new salvation, the Community Organizer from Chicago. At some point even Obama realized he had to be careful about this play on words that established himself as the source of hope. He awkwardly attempted to create wiggle room by saying, “We are the change we have been waiting for.” Nice try, Gandhi.

It seems to me that ultimate hope can come only from God. For on earth, one positive outcome is only met with another challenge. The ultimate futility of life can makes things seem pointless.  Hope in God makes sense.  So I get a little queasy when humans start dispensing hope in the form of bumper stickers.

I might be the only one who cares about this link between hope, despair, politics, manipulation, etc, and that’s fine. So let me apologize for interrupting hope in its days of glory. I don’t want anyone to feel pessimistic – I sure don’t. In fact, I look forward to someday writing a different article on my second least favorite word – ‘community’. But that’s another day, hopefully.