From Wikipedia – Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one’s life or the world at large.
There is nothing crueler in life than hope. People hope more than they believe in a divine creator or accept that which is directly in their face.
Life and the world are cold and heartless bastards. We are indoctrinated to have an expectation that if we work hard, live an honest and good existence, we will be rewarded with something positive. This pollyanna optimism can be the downfall of many.
Hope does not put food in the belly of the hungry, give shelter to the homeless nor provide clothing for the cold. Hope does not prevent cancer from invading a child, stop senseless wars, or correct cruel injustices. Hope does not keep the bully at bay, prevent the horrors of war, or stop the hurt of suicide.
Hope gives people a sense of false comfort in bad times, convincing them to believe, that there is a better time ahead.
If anything, hope leads to even more tragic consequences. Hope is what the cruel promise and that to which the desperate cling. The falsehood of hope damages many and breaks more than a few. Yet, even with direct and mounting evidence that there is no hope, it is still offered by some and believed by too many.
The characters I write are all, in one way or another, broken. I write about broken and damaged characters because in my experience, the damaged person is the norm, not the exception.