For me the most important quality a role model should invoke is hope, whether that be in the current system and how things can run or the hope that things can change for the better. Whether it be fictional characters or real people the most inspiring characters are the people who try to in some way create change in a seemingly hopeless world and struggle through to make the world better not necessarily even for themselves but for everyone around them, it’s also thus what snake oil salesmen and other such hope merchants inevitably prey upon. They are preying on your hope for a better world or your hope to get something out of you whether that is power or just monetary benefits.

Hope is something that everyone wishes to cling to as a quality but that people seem to have started reducing down to a transactional thing. When it’s anything but that, the people who bring hope always do so at great cost to themselves. People who try to sell hope are people who try and put on a façade that they are helping you out of genuinely good intentions even when they aren’t. They are just trying to use your feelings of despair to lure you out.

Anyway that’s enough about hope from me what do you think of when you hear the word hope.

  • Nerd02@lemmy.basedcount.comMEnglish
    3·
    1 year ago

    Being a religious person, that’s first place my mind goes to when I hear the word “hope”. Faith and hope share an incredibly strong bond, because among other things, having a strong Faith means having an unlimited source of hope. Well this goes for me, at least. Often times I have wondered how and where areligious (or religious but non practicing) people can find the hope and energy necessary to push ahead with life. Personally, I think I would have a hard time doing that if I found myself in such a situation.

    I also don’t necessarily believe that

    people seem to have started reducing [hope] down to a transactional thing

    I think there’s plenty natural sources of hope still to be found in the world (aside from religion). The “hope for sale” model only makes it easier to reach the end goal, which is why it has always enjoyed success throughout history. Because yes, I also don’t believe this is a recent phenomenon, I think it has existed for most of our history, possibly as long as market economies have. I don’t believe it’s a bad thing either, if it achieves its purpose and does give the “buyer” hope, then the seller might actually have done some good. The buyer will feel better thanks to that transaction, compared to how they would have felt had it not happened.

    Lastly, something this post made me reflect upon, is how amazing it is that a person can be the role model you spoke of without being necessarily aware of it. Just like one can find themselves inspired by someone else’s actions, they might very well be that same inspirational figure to a third person.