To hope for better days, as normal citizens, is all we can do during these unprecedented times

The ever-growing, ever-intensifying, ever-evolving, covid-19 pandemic has served as a mere backdrop to the equally intense Russo-Ukrainian conflict. It seems that with these ongoing morbid developments in geopolitics and the overall well-being of the inhabitants of the Earth, we have all seemed to abandon our hopeful outlook of thinking 2022 will be better. But should we abandon hope? No.

The pandemic has not shown any signs of stopping, on the contrary, it seems that it keeps on evolving. Though the surge of Covid-19 cases has dropped dramatically, that does not mean that the pandemic is ending, far from that. Even if the pandemic has ended, the new normal persists, new normal era norms enforced, and the new normal is the new normal. With no assurance from the experts, this is our grim sunshine reality.

World War 2 has plunged Europe into an era of complete utter economic, political, and social collapse. After this grim chapter of history closed, efforts from all over the world to throw away the possibility of war from ever breaking again. For the most part, Europe has been peaceful, this new realization after World War 2 did not stop wars; however, Europe has stayed peaceful.

This peace would not last, however, when Russia has engaged in an all-out aggressive military assault against its neighboring country, Ukraine. Russia has lit the fuse of war even threatening nuclear action. Bombardment of various Ukrainian cities; many lives have been lost; countries far from the conflict groan from the economic setbacks the conflict brought; Ukrainian and Russian ambassadors set to meet in Turkey to de-escalate the conflict. No talks though, about permanently ending the war, still, Putin persists in his delusional campaign.

These two major ongoing global tragedies will eventually end, but end in stalemate. As the pandemic ends eventually, as many plagues and diseases before that did, its enduring legacy in how we live our lives, and the seasonal flu will now be replaced by a seasonal covid linger on. Putin's war will end in either victory or in a complete crushing defeat, whichever outcome, Russia has turned itself into a pariah, it's isolationist and skeptical cold war stance to the west will continue, unless there is sweeping changes in Russian governance from top to bottom.

Humanity has endured countless diseases, plagues, wars, and violent dictators; many have perished by these foes, but still, life moves on, progress carried us through, and mercy is that life goes on.

Perhaps this sentiment may just be gunned down with the pejorative term of toxic positivity, but I do not think this applies. Toxic positivity is only toxic if we use it in the context of personal and emotional growth, wherein it is necessary to experience negativity to grow and mature. But we talk of wars and a global pandemic, which we, mere citizens, do not have much power to control its outcomes; hoping is the only thing we can do for the sake of those who have left and those who are still suffering.

To hope is not to bury the suffering of the present into confabulations to ease the blow reality is bringing us; Not at all, to hope is to yearn for better times, to hope is to be realistically creative, in the sense that what you're hoping is utopian yet realistically plausible, that is hope in its essence.

We continue hoping, without being naive about the implications and circumstances that need to be achieved for these hopes to be realized.