The Impossible Will Take a Little While: A Citizen's Guide to Hope in a Time of Fear

General Community Comments

March 13, 2006

From: Sara Brant, Book Club Guide

For those of you joining us to take a journey through The Impossible Will Take a Little While, welcome. I sincerely hope you find, as I have, that providing a context for yourself in Paul Rogat Loeb's citizen's guide to hope is a productive and inspiring undertaking. As famous Chicagoan Studs Terkel says of Loeb's work "he uncannily captures the thoughts and hopes, inchoate though they be, of America." I think this assessment is right. Through Loeb's lens on recent political and personal writing, we see a society asking pertinent questions, finding human flaws, accessing the language of the downtrodden and forgotten, making meaning. What does it take to make meaning? Sometimes, maybe all it takes is a little reading, a little thinking and an iota of discussion; a chance to access our own minds and speak them.

Audrey Metcalfe, '90 Retired Mental Health Counselor

Paul R. Loeb reminds me that optimism and hopefulness can bring joy and fun. And maybe knowing how to bring joy and love into our lives makes us hopeful?

I am fortunate in my life to have joy and fun, and health care, an education, my health and a comfortable home. How different this would be if I had no support, no job, no health care and perhaps a family to support. How would I face this world with hopefulness, joy and fun? I would find it very difficult and frustrating I am sure.

As Loeb states, R. Parks, was part of the community of people learning to defend themselves in a non-violent way. Although alone in her action, she was not truly alone. There was community with her in spirit. How do people who are struggling to get their daily needs met find community, particularly when the broader community ignores them? Where do these folks find role models to help them build a hopeful future?

Kozol and Rumi remind me that I am a role model every day, for good or otherwise. Being a hopeful role model means expressing love in ways simple and small as well as grand and global. These are probably obvious statements but still I need continually to be reminded to find the kind of support and community which encourages my hopefulness and to be part of a community which offers hopefulness to others.

Alain Millar '86/'89 Special Education Teacher

I enjoyed the previous readings L & C made available so jumped on this opportunity. I was modeling reading in my SSR class and as I read it dawned on me that my students desperately need a guide to hope in a time of fear. Yes, the reading is challenging, and yes, with support, my students access, understand, discuss and write about some of these themes.

Kozol's piece demanded my students' attention. It spoke about realities that they understand--Portland is, sadly, not always as far from New York as we may wish to believe. Nelson Mandela's essay introduced them to concepts of apartheid that parallel our study of the civil rights movement. Scott Russell Sanders's writing allowed us to have a discussion about their impressions of the messages I send with the lessons I choose. Driving home that day was a brilliant response by a young man on NPR's "This I Believe" segment prompting "This I Believe" essays from my students. We skipped Sherman Alexie's brilliant joust at the windmills of natal near death. After all, should my students pick up the book themselves someday, I want there to be some hidden indulgences.

The Small Work in the Great work offered us the opportunity to engage in homework assignments where we reported back each day on our "resistances" and our attempts to "beckon and urge [others] in toward beautiful life and love." Right now, we are writing our letters from Portland Public Schools talking about issues and situations that we think people should be talking more about thanks to the discussion questions Paul Rogat Loeb made available. This is all happening in my special education corner of North Portland thanks to the opportunity Lewis and Clark College provided me to read this book.

Thank you.

Questions?

e-mail: gsealum@lclark.edu
phone: 503-768-6049