Funny how some things just seem to pop into your head....
A person who has given up has nothing to lose, and thus doesn't care. They are invulnerable. A person with hope has something very precious indeed, and everything to lose. To lose hope, to lose that one thing that made it all worthwhile.... there is no greater loss in this world. This devastation is the motivation that drives people to protect their hope at all costs. It is this devastation that awaits them when, despite everything they have done, it all comes crashing down around them. There is no greater hurt, no greater pain, than to watch your hope die. And it is in that one split second when you know, you know that there is nothing you can do, and all you can do is stand, completely helpless, as your world splinters into that one moment of complete and total blankness. And suddenly there is nothing left.