It might seem counter intuitive, but I haven't been this hopeful about the future in many years

[Tom Rinaldo]

Yes I know the news is bleak, but the last time I felt anything even remotely like this was at the height of Occupy Wall Street. The dangers this world faces today are horrific, the challenges immense, the stakes could not be higher, but people are rising up. As someone who came of age as an activist in the Sixties, I fervently believe in the passion that youth has to offer when the future is on the line. Some years I've almost lost hope that generations after mine would ever full throttle confront "the system", as we used to call it, again.

Now I believe that whatever level of idealism and commitment to struggle that those of my generation once contributed, while fighting for justice, for the environment, and against nonsensical wars, will be far eclipsed by the actions of those below 40 today, and especially by those currently below twenty.

As I approach my 71st birthday it feels odd not to be closer to the front lines, due to a pandemic that targets those of my age. I am not on the streets daily the way I once would have been. The torch, for the most part, is carried now by arms far younger than mine. And they do so gloriously.

All I can say to my younger sisters and brothers of all races, ethnicities, genders, preferences, and positions in life is: BRAVO! Obama absolutely nailed it. This is your moment, and you have risen to meet it.

[FightingIrish]

1. If this isn't our moment, it will never come.

I too am staying physically on the sidelines. I’m 75 and understand that going into the streets like I always have is not worth it. I plan to live long enough to piss on Trump’s grave, even if I have to go to Moscow to do it.

[erronis]

2. I want to be hopeful too. I just fear the utmost depravity of a group of people who have decided

that the world isn't big enough for many of us. Many of us with differing viewpoints, skin colors, gender identification, ages, wealth and class.

Strangely tho, this group of people is in a very small minority. But they seem to exert undo power.

Let's get them out of power before "they come for us."

[Turbineguy]

3. I am hopeful too

The GOP has overplayed its hand with Trump and voter suppression. This virus will eventually have a vaccine and be under control. The police need some changes, but most of the problems are pretty obvious and there are also lots of good ideas out there.

So yeah, if we don't blow this chance we just might end up closer to a proper civilized society.

[leftieNanner]

4. Same Here

Although my anxiety level is still pretty high, I feel like we have opened a new door, or turned a corner. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but it feels like the momentum is on our side.

I'm a 60s kid myself and I remember being on campus at Cal during the Viet Nam protests. Our battle now seems even more immediate and important. I fear for the world that will be left behind for my children.

This morning, I told my husband that one positive thing about all that we are enduring now - hideous President/Administration, worst outbreak of a global pandemic, economic chaos, and George Floyd - is that it has shined a bright light on Trump and his enablers. It has invigorated the electorate. We will throw the bums out in November.

With everything we are dealing with now (see above, plus climate change), we don't have time to take baby steps, no incremental improvements. We must be bold and turn this all around.

Thanks for your uplifting post Tom!

[LakeArenal]

5. Joe Biden will begin the processes of healing.

I’m sure of it. Joe Biden will win!

[Initech]

6. I feel like we're between two worlds right now.

We had the Light World - one ruled by optimism and a brighter future. Then it was replaced with one ruled by hate, fear, and a power hungry mad man. Now we have a killer virus crippling the landscape and again ruling us with fear.

And I feel like there's a fork in the road right now. If we elect Biden, we will again return to the Light World. And if we reelect Trump, the Dark World - one where social distancing, fear, and greed rule the landscape, may last forever.

Me personally? I want the Light World back. So badly you have no idea.

[Tom Rinaldo]

7. It's not that I'm feeling optimistic. I can't go that far

Our literal planet is in jeopardy. The evil hand of racism has been resurgent after America elected it's first Black President. Gun deaths continue to explode. Greed has been celebrated. Overpopulation is fostering new pandemics. Democracy, world wide, is on the retreat. The potential for technology to empower totalitarianism has never been greater, etc. etc.

But until recently I had seen no signs of any broad sweeping movement emerging, one that refuses to be deterred, able to do battle against those forces to restore justice and our world. The values that most youth today have embraced, inter racial multi-culturism being high among them, stand in stark contrast to everything that has been going wrong now for decades

[Hortensis]

8. Many observers believe the Republicans who brought us to this

are running scared, stealing all they can and installing all the corrupt judges they can while they can, even as they fight to turn their massive failures into victory. I like to concentrate on the running scared in the face of massive rejection of the White Man's Party -- and all they're attempting -- by not just people marching in over 700 municipalities across the nation but by those who agree in something like 200 million homes.

We are always the majority. When enough people VOTE the principle, they always lose.

[lamp_shade]

9. Beautifully written, Tom Rinaldo. Thank you.

[bucolic_frolic]

10. Nothing will change until computers no longer run and no one understands them

but by then will there be paper and double-entry hand ledgers? How do you make change when the system harvests our lives so efficiently? Progressive income taxes? A fantasy.

[McKim]

11. Time to Open Boomer Wallets

For those of us who never stopped believing in a better world even after the enthusiasm of the 60’s was squelched by decades of right wing propaganda, this is heaven on earth. My husband and I sat in our car as elders and watched for 25 minutes as young people with homemade signs marched 12 abreast in the streets of Portland, Oregon. We were thrilled beyond measure and have been contributing to grass roots organizations to keep these young people afloat. Open your wallets, boomers and fund them!!