King Lear's Radical Hope

In Lear’s book Radical Hope, he talks about the cultural devastation of the Crow Indians. He proposes to cling to radical hope, because with the combination of courage and hope anything is possible. If Fromm were to approach the question of what to do in the face of cultural devastation, he would say that man must stay true to his original identity to be free. If Frankl were to respond to this question, he would say to search for a will to meaning, because when someone has meaning in his or her life, anything is possible. An entire civilization on the brink of ending is a scary thought. The name of Lear’s book is the main point in the story. By saying that people must cling to radical hope, Lear implies that the Crow Indians should never give up, and should instead grip tightly onto radical hope instead. This phrase “radical hope” is further explained when he describes how radical hope is something much bigger than something simple like optimism (113-117). In addition to explaining what this phrase meant, Lear also described the vital relationship to courage and hope and how they are ways to achieve success (118-123). …show more content…
If Fromm could talk to the Crow Indians, he would say that their culture is very unique and although people are pressuring them to conform to social norms, they should resist and embrace their quirks. He would also explain that they have nothing to be self conscious about, because the fact that the Crow culture is primitive is actually quite incredible considering how advanced today’s society is. Finally, Fromm would conclude by stating that being unique is actually the key to not ruining the civilization, because man must stay true to his original identity to really be free and continue to