{"id":75646,"date":"2026-01-02T00:01:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T07:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.opinionpublica.tv\/portada\/?p=75646"},"modified":"2026-01-01T18:09:56","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T01:09:56","slug":"2026-hope-in-a-time-of-cynicism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.opinionpublica.tv\/portada\/2026-hope-in-a-time-of-cynicism\/","title":{"rendered":"2026: Hope in a time of cynicism"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"2026<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

America has become a country of cynics. At least, that\u2019s what studies show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People don\u2019t trust each other, the media or the government. Most Americans, about 80 percent, don\u2019t feel confident their children\u2019s lives will be better than theirs. About half the country thinks America\u2019s best days are in the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCynicism is vastly on the rise,\u201d said Jamil Zaki, the director of the Stanford Social Neuroscience Lab. It\u2019s a dangerous trend \u2014 but Zaki and other experts say it\u2019s reversible if people cultivate hope that another future is possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hope, as a word, can be pat (does my barista really hope I have a good one?) and overly saccharine (think: the generic painted sign in an Airbnb). But it is also, experts tell me, an action verb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While optimism is the belief that the future will be better, hope is the belief \u201cthat we have the power to make it so,\u201d said Chan Hellman, the director of The Hope Research Center at the University of Oklahoma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is \u201cone of the strongest predictors of well-being,\u201d he said. It helps improve the immune system and aids recovery from illness. More hopeful people may actually grow taller than less hopeful people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To cultivate hope, people need three things, Zaki said: They first need to be able to envision a better future, either personally or collectively. Second, they need the willpower or motivation to move toward that future. And third, they must be able to chart \u201ca path from where they are to where they want to be,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to be more hopeful<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are a few ways, experts say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People can set specific goals and then \u201cbegin brainstorming the pathways or road maps\u201d to achieve them, ideally by writing them down, Hellman said. That can start small. \u201cIt is much better to set and focus on short-term goals rather than long-term, abstract goals,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another tactic is to \u201creplace cynicism with skepticism,\u201d Zaki said. \u201cSkepticism is not believing that everything will turn out great, but also not prejudging things as terrible, either.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"2026<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

That can often mean speaking more positively about other people, as trust in others is an indicator of low levels of cynicism. People gossip three times as much about the selfish things others do than about the generous things they do, Zaki has found. To address that, he and his family practice \u201cpositive gossip.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEach evening we try to share one story of something positive that somebody else did that day,\u201d he said \u201cThe research finds that when you know you\u2019re going to have to share something, you pay a lot more attention to it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What you told us<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s try some positive gossip, of sorts, for 2026. I wanted to know how we could be \u201cgood and proactive and even somewhat desperate\u201d patients, as George Saunders once said, in seeking a more generous outlook. So we asked you what gives you hope, and more than 600 of you replied. Many of you spoke positively about others. Here\u2019s what you said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Random acts of kindness<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

People like Ahmed el Ahmed in Australia, who don\u2019t think twice about risking their lives to help others. Makes me remember Mister Rogers telling us, when things are bad, to \u201clook for the helpers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seeing a man playing peekaboo with a young toddler seated in front of him on an airplane (a stranger to him), over and over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tim. Early in our friendship, he texted me one morning: \u201cHey! I just heard on the radio that today is going to be the best day ever.\u201d I smiled, actually believed him. About a week later, same text: \u201cHey! I just heard on the radio that today is going to be the best day ever.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lovely man who held the door for me at the post office, smiled and said, \u201cHave a beautiful day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Children<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you heard a kid really laugh? From their gut? That sound could end all wars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My little girls. They are the kindest people I have ever met.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whenever I meet a real, live high school student.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

History<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mothers Against Drunk Driving. No one thought we could re-educate the populace to stop drinking and driving. We did by persevering and by educating children about it. They listened. We changed. We can do this again around the differences we have now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My experience has taught me that the future does end up better, even if it seems a bit delayed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sports<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m looking forward to watching the Super Bowl with my grandkids. And then, in March, I\u2019m taking them to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The World Cup! The biggest global event, bringing people together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Travel<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first overseas trip for our children, 12 and 10. I\u2019m excited to see their minds open.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My cousin\u2019s cowboy-themed wedding in Sweden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other sources<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Nativity scene under a tree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Mobile, Ala. Credit…Vincent Alban\/The New York Times<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belief in God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The progress we\u2019re making as a society on renewable energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Living in the same place for 30 years is a great adventure when one pays attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I hope, in 2026, we can all be more like Tim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each week, I write about topics like this in Believing, a newsletter about how people find meaning in their lives now. You can subscribe to Believing here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credits: The New York Time<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Autor: Lauren Jackson<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

America has become a country of cynics. At least, that\u2019s what studies show. People don\u2019t trust each other, the media or the government. Most Americans, about 80 percent, don\u2019t feel confident their children\u2019s lives will be better than theirs. About half the country thinks America\u2019s best days are in the past. \u201cCynicism is vastly on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":75648,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"slim_seo":{"title":"2026: Hope in a time of cynicism - Opini\u00f3n P\u00fablica","description":"America has become a country of cynics. At least, that\u2019s what studies show. People don\u2019t trust each other, the media or the government. Most Americans, about 80"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1015],"tags":[1742,1740,1739,1741,1738],"class_list":["post-75646","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-optv-usa","tag-children","tag-cynicism","tag-hope","tag-new-year","tag-optv-usa"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.opinionpublica.tv\/portada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75646","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.opinionpublica.tv\/portada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.opinionpublica.tv\/portada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.opinionpublica.tv\/portada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.opinionpublica.tv\/portada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75646"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.opinionpublica.tv\/portada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75646\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":75650,"href":"https:\/\/www.opinionpublica.tv\/portada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75646\/revisions\/75650"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.opinionpublica.tv\/portada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75648"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.opinionpublica.tv\/portada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75646"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.opinionpublica.tv\/portada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75646"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.opinionpublica.tv\/portada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}