How should this understanding of hope be used?

            Sherman’s interpretation of what hope means and the role that it can play in moral repair is very interesting; however, I am not sure how one could harness or utilize this understanding of hope because it seems to me that the issue for many veterans is not that they don’t understand how useful hope can be, but rather that they are in situations that make it difficult for them to have hope in the first place.  Hope seems to be something that one cannot purposefully choose to have or not have, but rather one that depends on one’s situation and the people surrounding him.

            For example, Dan Berschinski’s story shows that his hope in himself and others (and the hope others had in him) were critical to his success.  However, this hope seems largely due to factors outside of anyone’s control.  His socioeconomic status, college education, having people close to him supporting him, and perhaps most importantly, seeing an example of someone who had succeeded in his position were the key factors in Dan’s hope.  One could easily imagine a person who does not have the same resources and experiences, and telling that person to “have hope in yourself” would be fairly meaningless.

            Of course, the main point of Sherman’s piece seems to be that a veteran’s hope in himself and others’ hope in him and his capacity for moral goodness can be “deeply corrective and healing” after war, which may not necessarily require the same types of resources instrumental to Dan’s story (such as money).  However, even then, it appears that hope begins with a “partner’s attuned artful and finely attuned hope”, and the presence of this partner(s) is a factor that cannot simply be controlled because one better understands hope.

            I feel as though Sherman glosses over the fact that many veterans lack a support system (such as close family members or partners who can invest hope into them) or resources (such as mental health resources) that makes it unable for many veterans to have the kind of reciprocated hope that Sherman wants them to have in the first place; all of the success stories she mentions in the essay are of veterans who already have people close to them supporting them and hoping in them.