Even if the hopes you started out with are dashed hope has to be maintained.
What creates freedom? A revolution in the streets? Mass protest? Civil war? A change of government? The ousting of the old guard and its replacement by the new? History more often than not shows that hopes raised by such events are often dashed sooner rather than later.
I'm someone who's done the opposite of whatever the received wisdom is to keep your career going into your 50s.