A Rant and Some Hope

I had grand plans for today. I was going to get a lot of work done. Check things off my to-do list. Complete my #30DayWritingChallenge early and put in a solid, accomplishment-filled day.

Instead, I have spent all afternoon and evening doubling as an IT specialist. The fine folks who run the low-quality, high-cost mess that is Spectrum in New York City noticed that I have had several “catastrophic internet connection failures” (as they called it) over the last few weeks, which explains the not so reliable wi-fi here in the home office. But today there were four such failures.

And so, my plans have gone to waste as I have spent all afternoon and evening trying to fix my cable modem, my wireless connection and my laptop battery. Ok, that last one isn’t Spectrum’s fault, but I’m blaming them for the bad tech juju.

Spectrum was kind enough to make me aware of these failures, not when they happened, but today, when I finally called them. So, they’ve known for weeks, didn’t tell me and chose not to fix it … until I called. And now someone is coming tomorrow. Not today, mind you. Tomorrow.

I have never had a pleasurable cable company experience and I know of no one who has. For most subscribers, there is only one choice of provider. I got rid of cable ages ago, but still rely upon the company for internet connectivity.

In most parts of the U.S., these companies have monopolies in their regions. Where there is a monopoly, there are high prices. In NYC, 20% of residents do not have internet at home. For those living under the poverty line, it's 33%. Let's pause a moment to think about how often we go online to learn something new or to answer health questions or to check in on family. Now, let those numbers and what they mean sink in.

Placing the customer at the bottom of the priority list is all in a day's work. Today was one of those days. Even so, I am in the privileged position to be able to afford what should no longer be considered a luxury for 21st century living. For that, I am grateful, but no less annoyed at Spectrum and its ilk.

Ok, I promised not to make this entire post a rant and since I’ve had very little time to write, this will be a short entry.

So, to turn things around – or maybe still in relation to the above – I am sharing one of my favorite segments from a political speech. I am a sucker for a good political speech. There are only so many gifted speakers and when you combine one with the right words in the right moment, it can be pretty magical.

This segment of a political speech doesn’t come from any actual campaign trail or address to the nation. Rather, it’s from The West Wing, a show of which I am a HUGE fan. And it comes from Congressman Matthew Santos’ presidential campaign announcement:

And I'm here to tell you that hope is real. In a life of trials, in the world of challenges, hope is real.

In a country where families go without health care, where some go without food, some don't even have a home to speak of, hope is real. In a time of global chaos and instability where our faiths collide as often as our weapons, hope is real. Hope is what gives us the courage to take on our greatest challenges, to move forward together.

We live in cynical times, I know that. But hope is not up for debate. There is such a thing as false science, there is such a thing as false promises, and I am sure I will have my share of false starts. But there is no such thing as false hope.

There is only hope.

Here’s hoping for a better tomorrow. For all of us.