The first portion “Political Paralysis” talked about the power of small, everyday kindnesses and very positive effects that they can have on others. Danusha Veronica Goska talked about how people can view their contribution as small and insignificant which can make people discouraged and inhibit them from taking small steps or contributing to a larger solution. I think this relates to the COVID-19 situation because not everyone understands the necessity of social distancing and how limiting contact with other people contributes to addressing the public health crisis. I am not in a “hot spot” area, and as a result, some people in my community feel separated from the issue and do not recognize how drastic a situation this is, causing them to break social distancing protocol. I assume they are thinking “the crisis is so far away from us. why should we be expected to alter our lives when the crisis isn’t here?” when in reality, social distancing is important so that St. Louis doesn’t become a hot spot like some other cities.

Zinn’s chapter “The Optimism of Uncertainty” talked about power. He says that people often feel powerless because sometimes change is slow and it is hard to see the progress that movements make. He also talked about certain movements in history which succeeded to due to persistence; the longer these movements existed, the more traction they gained, the more people they attracted which led to them become successful. He claims that many people also share your thoughts on certain issues and will eventually join you when they realize that you exist. When reading this chapter, I felt my heart swell with pride at the different movements that have succeeded against strong opposition and changed the status quo. It gave me a sense of hope that movements for my generation that seem hopeless (fighting climate change, closing the income gap) might not be if we practice the patience and persistence that Zinn recommended. However, upon greater reflection, the way that Zinn explained it is that no movement is doomed if it keeps going, but what about the movements that are counterproductive to progress. If read by a different audience, someone in a white supremacist movement for example could believe that if they just never give up then their movement will eventually succeed.

This reminds me of the importance of context that we’ve talked about previously. Based on the examples that Zinn used, I don’t think this piece was meant to inspire white supremacists. However, their context and views differ greatly from that of a Bostonian educator which means they would apply the advice to their own ideas opposed to the ideas that Zinn intended. This makes me wonder how two opposing movements who are employing the same strategies would face-off. I would like to think that the majority of opinions in the US would side with Zinn, but until an actual show-down occurs, I’m not sure there’s a way to know.