Misplaced Hope

The fragility and brevity of human life are easily and quickly exposed. While we know this to be a fact, its manifestation is still a great shock to us. In a moment, it becomes glaringly apparent that life is not as lasting as we had thought, that we are indeed mortal, and what's more, that we are not necessarily in control of very much at all. We are stunned when the veneer of permanence and stability we have ascribed to our world is peeled away. Without much consideration, we view this world, this society with its many trappings, as something steadfast and sure.

In addition, there are many ideals and virtues that we cherish. Justice, liberty, and prosperity, to name a few, are qualities of great importance to us; they are the embodiment of what we value. Though not tangible items, they have attained a sort of transcendent quality and seem to be beyond the attacks of ignoble mankind. And so we believe that we have within our possession a vast storehouse of surety. We think we have found a solid foundation on which to live and build our lives and societies. The items that form this foundation, tangible or otherwise, have secured our trust and have become the objects of our hope. When the things in which we hope are attacked, when the mortality of human life and the frailty of our existence are revealed, we cannot help but seek out both a hope that is real and a life that cannot be destroyed.