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Optimism of Uncertainty

The optimism of Uncertainty by Howard Zinn was an article published In The Nation in

2004 just three years after the 9/11 twin towers attack. During the period, people had a sense of

pessimism about the world resulting from the war on terrorism. The events of the fight on

terrorism led to people feeling hopeless and helpless.

First, the article points out that it is impossible to be happy if you are involved in politics

and understands world events. Further, the article points out that it is a fact that history is

unpredictable. He uses world examples in history that show the unpredictability in the world, for

example, the overthrow of the czar of Russia and Chinese communist revolution. He uses these

cases to show history surprises which he explained happened due to the continued quest for

justice by the people. He highlights the people who inspire hopefulness through their actions and

optimism. Through optimism or hope, the historical surprises occur. He asserts strongly that if

people only see the worst it destroys their capacity to do anything.

Howard effectively uses historical examples, appeals to hope, and references to his

personal experiences in a bid to persuade his audience to maintain optimism while still being

involved in world events. In his article, Zinn uses historical examples to support his claim that

hope wins. He points out that even though it is logical to assume that the world will continue on

a negative path, it is more logical to be hopeful that it will not. The basis of using historical

examples is to show that something good happened where it is unexpected. The highlight of his
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historical examples is the odd shifts of World War II which he uses to appeal to the audience’s

logic that good things happen when it seems impossible as it has happened before. Additionally,

Zinn uses the historical examples to show to the audience that the bad times do not last forever.

For example, he uses the case of Soviet Union failure to control Afghanistan even after ten years

of an ugly intervention to show that even after an extended period of negative discourse it at one

point comes to an end. The article expresses that hope is not only logical but necessary for

creating better times. Most people believe that if something has happened before there is a

significant possibility of its reoccurrence in future.

The appeal for hope is way too often. It is a compelling human emotion that everyone

seeks to maintain. At the end of the article Zinn points out that we need hope. He believes that

hope is a necessary attribute of living and through it, people can fulfill the things they hope to

achieve. The appeal acts on the idea that human beings have a desire to hope for things that they

consider to be good. He reiterates that hope is necessary and should not be stamped out. Zinn in

his article does not believe that his thought process is from nativity where he says “to be hopeful

in bad times is not just foolishly romantic.”

Zinn acknowledges that the audience may feel that optimism may be a crazy idea and he

uses his life experiences to counter this idea within the audience. He talks about the young

people who he has encountered, and they give hope. He points out that he keeps up with the

happenings around the world, but he remains hopeful. His experience as a social activist has

opened a path for him to meet more individuals who give him hope. Moreover, he states that out

there, there are many open minds ready to change the world. The personal experiences are used

to show the audience that Zinn’s optimism is not as a result of irrational ideas, but rather it is

from his knowledge about the good people who fill the earth.
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In conclusion, this article is very effective in its use of historical examples, hope and

Zinn’s personal experiences to appeal to a pessimistic audience that hope is possible and

necessary for the continuation of good in the world. The use of historical examples is very

effective as people find history as an accurate representation of life. Nevertheless, hope is well

used to persuade the audience towards optimism. The use of his personal experiences helps to

remove any skepticism about his claims that hopefulness was not foolish. The article can change

a pessimist to an optimist through the detailed information and drive hope for good gain.
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Works Cited

Loeb, Paul Rogat. The impossible will take a little while: A citizen's guide to hope in a time of

fear. Hachette UK, 2014. 78-86.