what are, so to speak, the schools of hope, areas of our common life that we should encourage and strengthen on the grounds that they help people sustain or embrace hope? Much of the work of sustaining or building hope is done in families and in personal friendships of many kinds. But there are five, at least, that we can look to as we try to sustain hope for a decent future: poetry, music, and the other arts; critical thinking (in schools, universities, and adult discussion groups of many kinds); religious groups insofar as they practice love and respect for others; solidarity groups focused
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