Hope springs

HOPE IS the story of Easter, the culmination of this week’s annual observance, when it seems the entire country—or at least the majority Catholics among us—pause in our daily occupations and take time out to reflect on our relations with the Higher Power. Or maybe just hie off to the nearest beach and work on a deeper tan.

But hope doesn’t have to be bathed in divine light, the representation of the Risen Lord ascending to Heaven in loosened bindings that had fallen from Him as He conquered death.

Sometimes, hope can be as simple and mundane as the first family of the United States descending from Air Force One to touch ground in Cuba. Just a few years ago, the very notion of such an event would have been considered mere fantasy; so long and entrenched had hostilities been that at one point the island seemed the unlikely source of World War III.

American commentators watching the Obamas descend the steps of the plane, trailed by a bipartisan delegation of legislators and a group of businessmen checking out potential investments in the island, at one point seemed at a loss for words. Overtures to end the decades of tension and put an end to an embargo that left Cuba isolated and impoverished began just a few years ago. It was the unlikely result of discreet diplomatic efforts initiated by, another source of wonder, the Vatican.

True, much of the credit must be laid at the feet of Barack Obama, who dared displease the powerful and outspoken anti-Fidels in the United States, as well as at the feet of Raul Castro, who has taken over the reins of leadership in Cuba from the legendary Fidel. But it’s extraordinary how the Church successfully wielded its influence and goodwill in a purely secular matter: a rapprochement between two old enemies.

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THE New York Times (NYT) reports that Cubans have shown “a great affinity for Mr. Obama throughout his presidency.” But his popularity among Cubans leapt when the US President announced the restoration of relations with Cuba on Dec. 17, 2014. Says the NYT: “That date is now recited often as a new starting point for the country, joining historic dates, like July 26, 1953, when Fidel Castro mounted an attack on the Moncada barracks, initiating a revolution.”

Another comic irony, in the face of frantic beautification efforts like filling in potholes or painting rows of houses in attractive pastels, is that Cubans now joke among themselves: “Too bad Obama can’t stay for a month or a year.”

For sure, problems remain. Cuba is unlikely to transform into a democratic republic anytime soon, even if the expected deluge of tourists from around the world, and especially from the United States, cannot but influence Cubans’ expectations from their government. Rallies and other expressions of disagreement had been prohibited in the days leading up to the Obamas’ visit, even as Obama scheduled sessions with Cubans who have been detained for many years.

Still, as a movie title goes: “Hope Springs.” What other more hopeful sign than that the Cuban government announced it would not tolerate demonstrations or any forms of public dissent against the government or the United States, a former archenemy. Some shift has taken place indeed!

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ANOTHER source of hope is Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who, on a recent visit to the UN headquarters in New York, proudly announced that “I am a feminist.”

Speaking to an enthused, applauding audience of women taking part in the annual Commission on the Status of Women deliberations, Trudeau remarked that it’s high time a male feminist should no longer be considered an oddity. He said that the best response to the announcement should not be hossanahs but rather a shrug.

No wonder women love him.

It’s one thing for men in positions of leadership to say they believe in women’s rights or support their aspirations for equality. But it’s quite another thing to proudly declare their “feminism.”

To be a feminist, after all, is not just to believe in the equality of men and women, but to actively work to see that belief come into fruition, whether this equality be in the field of politics, economics or the personal domestic sphere. From what I see, it’s equality at home, in relationships, that men find most difficult to champion. Male privilege, after all, as with all forms of privilege, can be very difficult to give up, given how one’s rearing and society itself upholds, supports, encourages and cheers that privilege.

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THAT’S why an avowed feminist like Trudeau comes as such a pleasant surprise, especially as his feminism comes in such a good-looking package.

But in cheering the Canadian prime minister, feminists should not forget that the real “heroines” in the struggle for gender equality are not the few men who find the gumption to declare their affinity for women’s rights. Rather, it is the women who have fought, for generations and through history, for their own personal space and identity and with other women to get the larger society and governments to recognize and respect their rights, including the right to make their own choices.

Hope is fleeting and elusive. But with grit and will, that hope can blossom into reality, and dreams can turn into real changes in real lives. That is the promise of Easter.