Wearing my Pollyanna shoes

I asked my daughter this morning what came to her mind if I said Pollyanna, and she said nothing. So I hope some of you know that Pollyanna was an 1814 novel that featured a young girl with an eternally optimistic outlook on life. Boring in literature but not, I find, a bad way to look at life. I am Pollyanna.

And as I follow Facebook and other sources on the internet, I am encouraged about the world. We hear so much gloom and doom, and admittedly there is much dark to worry and moan over. The separation of children from their parents and now the word that it would be too much trouble to reunite them—I hope that ends up in Nuremburg someday, with the orange squatting president as the lead defendant. The ongoing foolishness of a wall that nobody wants that will do no good, cost a fortune, and destroy the environment. And the destruction of our environment on so many fronts. The greed and corruption that seems pervasive throughout the current administration—why in heaven’s name, I wonder, would anyone want to attach themselves to that? And why, oh why, do so many still seem to fawn over this man who is without a doubt corrupt and most likely a trator?

But the tide is changing. I see encouraging signs. Republican officials are pulling away from trump—a Senate amendment, which seems likely to pass if it hasn’t already, will condemn his withdrawal from Syria; several Senate Republicans have come out against the prospect of declaring the southern border wall a national emergency. The worst racist members of Congress have been ostracized and relegated to the sidelines, where they have no voice in government. The southern district of New York has demanded documents from trump’s inaugural committee, and it seems likely that his tax returns will also be unlocked.

Yes, we have miles to go, but these are encouraging signs, things we didn’t see a year ago It seems the universe that he thought he controlled is caving in on trump, and he’s fairly helpless. Karma is beginning its long slow climb to right the universe again.

A friend said to me tonight it’s amazing how rapidly trump was able to undo what it took years to put in place, and that is unfortunately true. But the American people are speaking, and I have faith in their collective voice. Today the buzz is about how many trump supporters are gobsmacked by their higher income tax bills and/or reduced refunds. The so-called president’s popularity is at a historic low. The tangled mess is unwinding.

I’m encouraged on another front. Across the world, people, communities, and countries are taking extraordinary measures to stop climate change and save the environment. They are planting trees—not just a few trees but whole forests, developing alternatives to single-use plastics, finding new methods of filtering water and growing crops in desert countries, developing non-toxic fuel alternatives. The numbers of countries who are partially or wholly dependent on solar power is astounding. I wish I’d kept a list of the projects that impressed me, for they are numerous and innovative. So while we hear all those prophets about the doomsday clock ticking, I am encouraged by the global effort to stop that clock. I only wish my country could do more, but I look to a hopeful future.

Be of good cheer, my friends. I really do think the future can be bright.