When I look at a wooden, hand-carved plaque in my home, I think of Gorodets, Russia. I wonder how this handmade object could preserve hope across decades of political change. In the ’90s and the early ’00s, I worked on the community use of technology to foster cohesion across people and networks. I spoke in Moscow’s House of Soviets, sometimes informally translated as the White House about the possibilities the internet might bring to all nations. Back then, the hope for democracy was strong among the people I met in Russia. I often wonder how they are doing. My sense is that some are probably distraught, having to send sons…