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How Much Hope is OK?

2021-03-05 · letter vlog · Hank · 3:34 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Philosophy & meaning · mode: Personal essay · tags: timely hook

After a February of good news (vaccines, a forgotten presidency, Perseverance on Mars), Hank says his hope is turning into joy, weighs the reasons his mind discourages it, and decides to judge a feeling by whether it inspires better action rather than by whether it is appropriate, so he will let himself enjoy nice feelings.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — February's good news: vaccines, the end of a presidency, Perseverance on Mars, SpaceX, mRNA, education's wake-up call

  • ★★ Hank says February was a little rough but also good: a lot of people, including many he loves, started getting vaccines. — 00:00:00 · vaccine
  • ★★ Hank calls it a relief that a mean, petulant, victimhood-based presidency was being forgotten quickly, maybe a little too quickly. — 00:00:00 · Donald Trump
  • ★ Hank notes that the Perseverance rover, which 'persevered' through it all, landed safely and spectacularly on Mars. (playful) — 00:00:00 · Mars
  • ★ Hank says SpaceX is learning, slowly, how to land a new rocket. — 00:00:00
  • ★★ Hank says mRNA therapies are proving potentially useful beyond this vaccine, for many things that will improve human health and life. (hedged) — 00:00:35
  • ★★ Disastrous as the year has been for education, Hank says it feels a bit like a wake-up call that its cost need not rise dramatically every year; there might be other ways. (hedged) — 00:00:35
  • ★★ Hank allows that we may not learn anything from any of this. (hedged) — 00:00:35

00:01:04 — A Montana winter endured, hope turning into joy, and the reasons his mind discourages the feeling

  • ★★ Hank says his mood is elevated and good. — 00:01:04
  • ★★ Hank thinks his mood may come from Montana's winter: everyone he knew expected it to be very bad, and then they went through it heads down without mentioning it. (hedged) — 00:01:04 · Montana
  • ★★★ With spring coming, Hank feels that what he is experiencing is not just hope but joy. — 00:01:04 · hope
  • ★★★ Hank sees spring coming and knows it is coming, and says he is not just talking about the weather. — 00:01:42
  • ★★ Part of Hank and much of the world discourage the feeling; some of that is wise: the future is unknown, guards should stay up, and twists may remain. — 00:01:42
  • ★★ Some of the discouragement is self-indulgent: his brain says it didn't have to be this bad, if only people or the government had acted; Hank agrees but doesn't want to think about winter in spring. — 00:01:42
  • ★★★ Learn from it, yes, but not whine: Hank doesn't know whom he serves by being mad at people who don't care or know he is mad, so he is trying to let that go. — 00:02:17

00:02:43 — Worry about the selfishness of good feelings; judging emotions by whether they inspire better action; sign-off

  • ★★ Given the injustice of this disaster, of future ones and of the world even without pandemics or climate change, Hank worries about the selfishness of his good feelings. — 00:02:43 · climate change
  • ★★★ Instead of asking which emotion is appropriate, a labyrinth, Hank will ask what he feels, why, and whether it will inspire depression, complacence or better action. — 00:02:43
  • ★★★ If a feeling will improve things for him and the world, Hank won't ask himself to stop feeling it even if it is nice; nice feelings feel nice. — 00:03:18

In the description and comments

  • ★★★ The description says Hank wants not rage and powerlessness but to stay unsatisfied with our response to injustice; 'hunger', which drives action and includes enjoying the meal, is a better word. — video description
  • ★★ The description calls developing vaccines and getting them into people, though imperfect, a marvel of humanity that Hank deeply believes we need to celebrate. — video description · vaccine
  • ★★ The description adds that enjoying this does not mean complacency: there is still much to do, but Hank wants to try to enjoy doing it. — video description

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: hope · joy

Also: climate change · Donald Trump · higher education · Mars · Mars 2020 (“Perseverance rover”) · Montana · SpaceX · vaccine

Also centred on joy: The ice we skate is getting pretty thin. · Is Happiness the Goal?

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