At this moment in time, I fear for the world that I live in. I fear for the sick and disabled people who have found out that they were deemed fit for work. I fear the assistance of people to die before we assist them to live. I fear for the hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing countries where the politics, economics and environment have made it impossible to remain. I fear for the fact that we renewed Trident. I fear for our political systems. Speaking from my own political perspective, I fear for the Labour party, but not as much as I fear the Tory party.
I fear for the arts, in Scotland and more generally. I fear for women, for black people, for working class people, for LGBTQ+ people. And I fear for the lives of disabled people, the way we are viewed, written about, pictured, presented, sidelined and excluded.
I have hope though. Every time things get really scary, I feel the push-back. I have hope that in time, we will find a political and social system that works for us, for everyone. That silenced voices will get louder. The internet gives me hope. It's messy and imperfect, prone to inaccuracy and corruption, but also a space where anyone can have a voice. I have hope in the people around me. I have hope BECAUSE of the people around me. If the artists and thinkers and doers I know are up to a challenge, even if it is just to hold a mirror up to ourselves and ask "What are we doing?" then I can believe that good things are possible.