Hope is entirely personal. I have it in spades. Living in a very liberal community in New England, I can still ignore "the force" of liberals. They hate being ignored. Raising a smart, well mannered, very responsible set of young humans to carry on -- to have their own "hope," and to exercise their own independence.
I'm scared about the direction of national politics. The momentum seems to be for MORE government, not less. Less personal responsibility, less tolerance for "being down and out," more of a drive to a guaranteed standard of living, no effort required. Take away the pressure and the creature will loaf.
I love country living, wouldn't give it up for anything.
What kills me is that goverment, at virtually every level, is looked upon to "solve" all of the problems of the world. Some problems can't be solved. Some problems might be solved, but not without bankrupting the community. And even the ones that can be solved, can probably solved a lot cheaper than how government usually operates. I have a major distrust of politicians. Even the republicans usually go for the "raise taxes" card at the first sign of trouble.