Hope, by itself, is only false hope that suddenly somehow things may inexplicably change. False hopes lead to inaction, hope in some future condition—like hope in some future heaven or that the Great Mother, or Jesus Christ, or Santa Claus leads us away from the present, away from the real toward some imaginary future state. To paraphrase Derrick Jenson in his article 'Beyond Hope', 'frankly, i don’t have much hope in hope itself.'
The pschylogical ladder, the metaphorical ladder to real change, is another matter. As with any ladder a person can only reach the next higher step by leaving the last behind. So it's only when a person quits relying on false hope, and steps up to the next rung, to learning the cause of the despair and fear that dominated a couple of rungs back, can that person move up to taking action that will be effective in creating the real change necessary. Only after climbing the ladder, only by first believing change is possible, only through knowledge of the problems at hand can action become truely meaningful - only then does a person become dangerous to those in power.
Knowledge wise, Rio+20 will fail for the same reason that the banks have failed. Political systems are owned and operared by and for the 1%. To expect governments funded and appointed by this class to protect the biosphere and defend the poor is like expecting a lion to live on gazpacho. Action wise, each of us must choose, alone or in small well trusted groups meeting face to face, what course to take, otherwise, if hope alone is our tool, the future for the children and grandchildren of the 99% will be short, dark and brutal.
