--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But all the fighting in the world will…" description: "\"“But all the fighting in the world will not help us if we do not also hope. What i'm trying to cultivate is not blind optimism or inane positivity but ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/771/junot-diaz-531_hope_but-all-the-fighting-in-the-world-will-n_1717554.jpg" --- # But all the fighting in the world will not help us if we… ![“But all the fighting in the world will not help us if we do not also hope. What i'm trying to cultivate is not blind optimism or inane positivity but what the philosopher Jonathan Lear calls radical hope. "What makes this hope radical," Lear writes, "is that it is directed toward a future goodness…” quote by Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/771/junot-diaz-531_hope_but-all-the-fighting-in-the-world-will-n_1717554.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/771/junot-diaz-531_hope_but-all-the-fighting-in-the-world-will-n_1717554.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/771/junot-diaz-531_hope_but-all-the-fighting-in-the-world-will-n_1717554.jpg) > ““But all the fighting in the world will not help us if we do not also hope. What i'm trying to cultivate is not blind optimism or inane positivity but what the philosopher Jonathan Lear calls radical hope. "What makes this hope radical," Lear writes, "is that it is directed toward a future goodness that transcends the current ability to understand what it is." Radical hope is not so much something you have but something you practice; it demands flexibility, openness, and what Lear describes as "imaginative excellence." Radical hope is our best weapon against despair, even when despair seems justifiable; it makes the survival of the end of your world possible. Only radical hope could have imagined people like us into existence. And I believe that it will help us create a better, more loving future.”” [Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Radical hope is an active, flexible mindset that envisions a transcendent future beyond current understanding, countering despair with imaginative openness. **In simple terms:** Hope as practice, not blind optimism. Key Takeaway Cultivate flexible, imaginative hope. Themes hope despair future resilience imagination Mood determined optimistic Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - activism - personal growth - community building - crisis response Key Concepts philosophy psychology existentialism Questions to Reflect On - How can you practice radical hope daily? - What does imaginative excellence look like in your life? A Different Perspective Hope alone cannot solve structural problems without action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blind optimism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blind-optimism/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Optimism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/optimism/) [Radical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/radical/) ## Related quotes > [The more seriously we understand the radical nature of sin, the more it exercises a restraint upon us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/the-more-seriously-we-understand-the-radical-nature-of-sin-the-more/) [R. C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul/) > [I believe in hope, in what is something called ”radical hope.” I believe there is hope for all of us, even amid the suffering.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-believe-in-hope-in-what-is-something-called-radical-hope-i-believe/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“I believe in hope, in what is sometimes called "radical hope." I believe there is hope for us all, even amid the suffering—and maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-believe-in-hope-in-what-is-sometimes-called-radical-hope-i-believe/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Hope, for the Christian, is not wishful thinking or mere blind optimism. It is a mode of knowing, a mode within which new things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright-2/hope-for-the-christian-is-not-wishful-thinking-or-mere-blind-optimism/) [N. T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright-2/) > [Hope is not blind optimism. It's not ignoring the enormity of the task ahead or the roadblocks that stand in our path. It's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/hope-is-not-blind-optimism-it-s-not-ignoring-the-enormity-of-the-task/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [One misconception is that entrepreneurs love risk. Actually, we all want things to go as we expect. What you need is a blind optimism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-houston/one-misconception-is-that-entrepreneurs-love-risk-actually-we-all/) [Drew Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-houston/) > [If you keep on saying things are going to be bad, you have a good chance of being a prophet... \[at least for your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-bashevis-singer/if-you-keep-on-saying-things-are-going-to-be-bad-you-have-a-good/) [Isaac Bashevis Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-bashevis-singer/) > [Being an England supporter is like being the over-optimistic parents of the fat kid on sports day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bishop/being-an-england-supporter-is-like-being-the-over-optimistic-parents/) [John Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bishop/) > [I’ve questioned everything about myself, every step of the way. You have to have the same amount of fear and self-doubt as you do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/i-ve-questioned-everything-about-myself-every-step-of-the-way-you/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [I'm not talking about blind optimism, the kind of hope that just ignores the enormity of the tasks ahead or the roadblocks that stand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-m-not-talking-about-blind-optimism-the-kind-of-hope-that-just/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [I’m not interested in blind optimism, but I’m very interested in optimism that is hard-won, that takes on darkness and then says, ‘This is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/i-m-not-interested-in-blind-optimism-but-i-m-very-interested-in/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“Nesse’s research focuses on the evolutionary origins of depression. Why does depression exist at all? If it’s stayed in our gene pool for so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mcgonigal/nesse-s-research-focuses-on-the-evolutionary-origins-of-depression/) [Jane McGonigal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mcgonigal/) > [I like to keep working and keep changing. It's a hopeful, optimistic thing to think and sit about what you could do next. Maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-ervin-beam/i-like-to-keep-working-and-keep-changing-it-s-a-hopeful-optimistic/) [Samuel Ervin Beam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-ervin-beam/) > [“I've never been more hopeful about our future. I have never been more hopeful about America. And I ask you to sustain that hope.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-ve-never-been-more-hopeful-about-our-future-i-have-never-been-more/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [I'm only trying to present as honest a portrayal of the grimness of human ambition as I can. I'd hope it's rather uplifting, actually,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-ware/i-m-only-trying-to-present-as-honest-a-portrayal-of-the-grimness-of/) [Chris Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-ware/) ## More by Junot Díaz > [It might interest you that just as the U.S. was ramping up its involvement in Vietnam, LBJ launched an illegal invasion of the Dominican…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/it-might-interest-you-that-just-as-the-u-s-was-ramping-up-its/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [Tell her that you love her hair, that you love her skin, her lips, because, in truth, you love them more than you love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/tell-her-that-you-love-her-hair-that-you-love-her-skin-her-lips/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [It took me sixteen years to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/it-took-me-sixteen-years-to-write/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [You ask everybody you know: How long does it usually take to get over it? There are many formulas. One year for every year…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/you-ask-everybody-you-know-how-long-does-it-usually-take-to-get-over/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [Instead of finding himself in nerd heaven—where every nerd gets fifty-eight virgins to role-play with—he woke up in Robert Wood Johnson with two broken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/instead-of-finding-himself-in-nerd-heaven-where-every-nerd-gets-fifty/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [The one thing about being a dude and writing from a female perspective is that the baseline is, you suck. The baseline is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/the-one-thing-about-being-a-dude-and-writing-from-a-female/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [“I used to think those were the barrio rules, Latinos and blacks in, whites out —a place we down cats weren’t supposed to go.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/i-used-to-think-those-were-the-barrio-rules-latinos-and-blacks-in/) [Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [“I put my hand on her knee. I just wish you'd say you love me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/i-put-my-hand-on-her-knee-i-just-wish-you-d-say-you-love-me/) [Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [I've always thought that you don't love a country by turning a blind eye to its crimes and to a problem. The way that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/i-ve-always-thought-that-you-don-t-love-a-country-by-turning-a-blind/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [“Called her a whore and attacked her walls, tearing down her posters and throwing her books everywhere. I found out because some whitegirl ran…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/called-her-a-whore-and-attacked-her-walls-tearing-down-her-posters/) [Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [You're Dominican only if you do this, this, and that. And if you do this and that, you'll be accepted to a certain degree…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/you-re-dominican-only-if-you-do-this-this-and-that-and-if-you-do-this/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [“Ramfis fled the country after Trujillo's death, lived dissolutely off his father's swag, and ended up dying in a car crash of his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/ramfis-fled-the-country-after-trujillo-s-death-lived-dissolutely-off/) [Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [If you didn't grow up like I did then you don't know, and if you don't know it's probably better you don't judge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/if-you-didn-t-grow-up-like-i-did-then-you-don-t-know-and-if-you-don-t/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [“If you ask me I don't think there are any such things as curses. I think there is only life. That's enough.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/if-you-ask-me-i-don-t-think-there-are-any-such-things-as-curses-i/) [Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [The only difference between a published and unpublished writer is a tolerance for imperfection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/the-only-difference-between-a-published-and-unpublished-writer-is-a/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) [Explore all 486 Junot Díaz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) ## More Blind optimism quotes > [I'm only trying to present as honest a portrayal of the grimness of human ambition as I can. I'd hope it's rather uplifting, actually,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-ware/i-m-only-trying-to-present-as-honest-a-portrayal-of-the-grimness-of/) [Chris Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-ware/) > [“I've never been more hopeful about our future. I have never been more hopeful about America. And I ask you to sustain that hope.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-ve-never-been-more-hopeful-about-our-future-i-have-never-been-more/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [I like to keep working and keep changing. It's a hopeful, optimistic thing to think and sit about what you could do next. Maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-ervin-beam/i-like-to-keep-working-and-keep-changing-it-s-a-hopeful-optimistic/) [Samuel Ervin Beam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-ervin-beam/) > [“Nesse’s research focuses on the evolutionary origins of depression. Why does depression exist at all? If it’s stayed in our gene pool for so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mcgonigal/nesse-s-research-focuses-on-the-evolutionary-origins-of-depression/) [Jane McGonigal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mcgonigal/) > [I’m not interested in blind optimism, but I’m very interested in optimism that is hard-won, that takes on darkness and then says, ‘This is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/i-m-not-interested-in-blind-optimism-but-i-m-very-interested-in/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [I'm not talking about blind optimism, the kind of hope that just ignores the enormity of the tasks ahead or the roadblocks that stand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-m-not-talking-about-blind-optimism-the-kind-of-hope-that-just/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [I’ve questioned everything about myself, every step of the way. You have to have the same amount of fear and self-doubt as you do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/i-ve-questioned-everything-about-myself-every-step-of-the-way-you/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [Being an England supporter is like being the over-optimistic parents of the fat kid on sports day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bishop/being-an-england-supporter-is-like-being-the-over-optimistic-parents/) [John Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bishop/) > [If you keep on saying things are going to be bad, you have a good chance of being a prophet... \[at least for your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-bashevis-singer/if-you-keep-on-saying-things-are-going-to-be-bad-you-have-a-good/) [Isaac Bashevis Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-bashevis-singer/) > [One misconception is that entrepreneurs love risk. Actually, we all want things to go as we expect. What you need is a blind optimism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-houston/one-misconception-is-that-entrepreneurs-love-risk-actually-we-all/) [Drew Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-houston/) > [Hope is not blind optimism. It's not ignoring the enormity of the task ahead or the roadblocks that stand in our path. It's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/hope-is-not-blind-optimism-it-s-not-ignoring-the-enormity-of-the-task/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Hope, for the Christian, is not wishful thinking or mere blind optimism. It is a mode of knowing, a mode within which new things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright-2/hope-for-the-christian-is-not-wishful-thinking-or-mere-blind-optimism/) [N. T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright-2/) > [“Gdmng, Sunshine! This morning, I offer a gentle reminder: even when everything sucks, pretend you’re a wildflower & push through anyway. Isn’t it amazing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajesh-goyal/gdmng-sunshine-this-morning-i-offer-a-gentle-reminder-even-when/) [Rajesh Goyal, राजेश गोयल](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajesh-goyal/) > [“I may not be good at climbing, may lack the upper-body and leg strength required to make me a good cyclist or an ironman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-smith/i-may-not-be-good-at-climbing-may-lack-the-upper-body-and-leg/) Phoebe Smith > [Hope is the bedrock of this nation. The belief that our destiny will not be written for us, but by us, by all those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/hope-is-the-bedrock-of-this-nation-the-belief-that-our-destiny-will/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) [Browse all 21 Blind optimism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blind-optimism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But all the fighting in the world will not help us if we do not also hope. 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