To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human-history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. … And if we do act, in however a small way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is in itself a marvelous victory.
– Howard Zinn, Aug 24, 1922 – Jan 27, 2010
Submitted by WCD Member