Arundhati Roy said, "For many of us who feel estranged from mainstream politics, there are rare, ephemeral moments of celebration." - P10
F. Scott Fitzgerald famously said, "The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function," but the summations of the state of the world often assume that it must be all one way or the other, and since it is not all good it must all suck royally. Fitzgerald’s forgotten next sentence is, "One should, for example, be able to see that things are hopeless and yet be determined to make them otherwise." - P11
Hope, in this deep and powerful sense, is not the same as joy that things are going well, or willingness to invest in enterprises that are obviously headed for early success, but, rather, an ability to work for something because it is good, not just because it stands a chance to succeed. - P11
Overcoming alienation and isolation or their causes is a political goal for the rest of us. - P12
"Without a minimum of hope, we cannot so much as start the struggle. But without the struggle, hope dissipates, loses its bearings, and turns into hopelessness. And hopelessness can turn into tragic despair. Hence the need for a kind of education in hope." - P12
Resistance is first of all a matter of principle and a way to live, to make yourself one small republic of unconquered spirit. - P12
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