Hope and Democracy

Abstract

This chapter explains why hope matters for democracy. It offers insight into both what Americans hope for and how they hope together. It shows how democracy and hope are mutually supportive of one another. This chapter considers how Americans work toward goals they set through hoping—a verb, a practice, rather than a noun or object we possess. It demonstrates how hoping connects us to other people and how our aims are best realized by working together with others. It describes how Americans might work together to tell new stories about our country and to set new goals for democracy and bring them into fruition. In part, this is done through harnessing democratic dissent—converting citizens’ frustrations into social movements that bring about change.