Commentator Joseph C. Phillips responds to some listener complaints on a recent commentary he did on the concept of hope. Phillips is an actor and columnist living in Los Angeles.
FARAI CHIDEYA, host: Commentator Joseph C. Phillips wants to clarify his concept of hope for listeners.</s>FARAI CHIDEYA, host: Mr. JOSEPH C. PHILLIPS: A few weeks ago, I told the story of a 13-year-old girl suffering from stress and exhaustion. The girl misses school because she is often called upon to take care of her younger siblings, as her mother has psychological problems.</s>FARAI CHIDEYA, host: In the commentary I said young people like this eighth grade girl must have faith that the hand of God will move in their lives. However, they also need hope in the form of human hands that will reach to offer them counsel and support.</s>FARAI CHIDEYA, host: For this observation, I received e-mails calling me naïve and cursing me as not worth the time of day. One e-mail in particular took me to task for being so wedded to my conservative ideals that my mind was closed.</s>FARAI CHIDEYA, host: Now it's unclear to me what conservative ideals have to do with what I said. I suspect the admonition was born from a belief that our problems are not of our own making and we are then equally powerless to change our circumstances or those of people around us.</s>FARAI CHIDEYA, host: Admittedly, I tend to veer away from the progressive notion that problems of poverty and want are created by evil capitalist institutions, and the solution therefore is the dismantling of those institutions and the creation of new ones, which will in turn lead us to a morally legitimate America. Let's title that Marxism 101.</s>FARAI CHIDEYA, host: In an odd bit of moral gymnastics, it was my stated belief that solutions are to be found not in the halls of government but in the hearts of men that made my conservative ideals fodder for ridicule and my compassion and humanity fair game during a discussion of hope.</s>FARAI CHIDEYA, host: I do not define hope as merely an expectation of good things to come. As some biblical scholars have put it, hope is something more akin to the character of God. The essence of Judeo-Christian hope is fellowship with our creator. It is agape, a quality of love that transcends race, economics and party affiliation.</s>FARAI CHIDEYA, host: To speak of hope is not the refrain of the eternal optimist, rather it is the assurance that fellowship with God moves men to compassion, charity and justice.</s>FARAI CHIDEYA, host: Now this is not to suggest that there is no role for government. Indeed, government has a responsibility to protect the innocent. Government, however, can never be a true source of hope, because government is soulless without feeling and without the capacity for love or compassion.</s>FARAI CHIDEYA, host: For those suffering hardship, real transformative power comes in the form of individual men and women motivated by Christian love to help shoulder their burden.</s>FARAI CHIDEYA, host: Hope in the form of human hands is mentoring programs, the Boys and Girls Clubs and Big Brothers, Big Sisters programs; it is groups that minister to the elderly and nursing homes, or feed the homeless. It is the countless other charitable organizations and volunteers that provide dollars, strong backs and compassionate hearts.</s>FARAI CHIDEYA, host: Now it occurs to me that I may not have stated this clearly in my previous commentary. And I promise to try and do better. However, to the charge of naiveté, I plead not guilty. It is not naïve to believe in man's capacity for charity or to trust that the recognition of our common humanity moves men to act from their better natures. Neither is it a conservative ideal that God lives in each and every one of us and that He will often work miracles through the labor of angels without wings.</s>FARAI CHIDEYA, host: Joseph C. Phillips is an actor and columnist living in Los Angeles.</s>FARAI CHIDEYA, host: This is NPR News.