Hope Lies In Dreams

“Hope lies in dreams, in imagination, and in the courage of those who dare to make dreams into reality.” Jonas Salk

About a dozen years ago, my nephew asked me to review a college paper he had written. The subject was the potential damage of widespread use of social media. In those days, to me, social media mostly meant Facebook. I read the paper with interest, but I didn’t quite comprehend the seriousness of this issue. I just couldn’t imagine any danger in watching Facebook posts. Now, I see that my nephew was prescient, and I realize that there is indeed a great deal of damage that has been and is being done through social media. I am now aware of many forms of social media in addition to Facebook as well as major television networks posing as news outlets when they are really entertainment networks. Their influence on our society seems unfathomable.

Despite the popularity of these entertainment outlets and social media platforms, I still feel hopeful for our beleaguered country. I sense a sea change in our discourse away from dehumanization and toward civility, with less anger and more inclusivity, with less fringe and more reality, and with less emotion and more rationality. I am still aware of the presence of the dangerous rhetoric, but I believe that more people are no longer embracing these fringe elements.

For all of you who believe that America is and always has been great, I am with you. Our hope will enable us to “turn our dreams into reality” as we continue to tackle our issues and face our challenges. This bright, colorful painting is my interpretation of that hopeful future trajectory. To help us along the way, I’ve injected a bit of pixie dust.