First Weekly Statement

Meghan Kelly

Section 5

In the article “Beyond Hope” by Derrick Jensen, the issues of hope and optimism are brought up about how we can see passed the doom of environmental issues. Hope is something that Jensen believes is “what keeps us chained to the system” (Jensen). Hope can make people want to change, but hope cannot have any promising solutions. In the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, hope is “to cherish a desire with anticipation.” We all desire that species never go extinct, but eventually certain species will not survive. Optimism, on the other hand would be the best way to view our situation. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, optimism is “an inclination to put the most favorable construction upon actions and events or to anticipate the best possible outcome.” If someone is optimistic, then they will work to make great things happen. I believe that Jensen wants people to be optimistic because he believes that people can come up with solutions to help the world and all living things. If we simply hope that things go better, nothing will happen, to come up with positive changes, optimism is needed.

I think that optimism is very important in life. If I am optimistic about my schoolwork, I will work hard to get a grade I deserve. I can always hope for an A, but unless I put forth the effort in getting an A, I will not obtain it. If I work hard and am optimistic, I may think I deserve an A, and will probably earn that grade. Thinking about my creative work, I cannot be hopeful. I cannot simply hope that a drawing looks like the person I am drawing, I can be optimistic that my drawing will look very similar to the person being drawn, and it will turn out well. Thus, if I am pessimistic, the drawing will turn out nothing like I wanted it to.

In class, Professor Joe Trumpey had us all fill out a questionnaire. Some of the questions he asked us were about plants, and to name ten species of native plants from our hometown. When I saw that question, I hoped I knew them. I could not list ten, and then began to feel guilty that I do not know enough about my home and the world. When Professor Trumpey went over the results of that question, he told us not to feel guilty. Jensen talks about giving up on hope in his article, and mentions that most people do not care enough about the world and environment. I believe that this course is to make us optimistic about the world, and to use our creative minds to come up with some solutions regarding the environment. After realizing that Professor Trumpey wants us to think, because if we think about issues, and come up with many possible solutions, then we are creating change. One of our assignments was to fill out a carbon footprint. If we realize that doing little things can help the environment, and do them, then we are no longer hoping that the environment is having some sort of benefit from us, but we are optimistic that these small changes are actually helping out the environment, then we are on the right track.

Works Cited:

“Beyond Hope” by Derrick Jensen

Merriam-Webster Dictionary