Hope, more growing pains, more emphasis (part one)

   It was mid-2008 in the United States of America and the country was poised for what was arguably going to be a transformative election. In the great scheme of things it had been less than 100 years since either people of color or women had the right to vote, or really had much of anything; and for all appearances, we were about to elect either our first woman or our first person of color. Yet for many either of these was long overdue. One of the two campaigns was smart to leverage that hope, and the abstraction became an icon. Barack Obama went on to win the presidency.
   While not seeking to associate a renaissance to the idea of leveraging hope, the campaign was at least a milestone for hope. What a universal behavior to believe in something positive. We are not talking about positive affirmations here, or Pollyannaish fantasy; this is more a function of aspiring, yearning or goal setting.
   As we look around at the beginning of this new millennium one might ask what use have we for something so vague. One might also take pause and realize the wide spectrum from global horrors, injustices and inequities and the massive new possibilities and resources. Marketing and sales have always had hope on their palette. While it never went away, hope may yet find an elevated status moving forward.