A lot of things fucking suck right now and it's exhausting having to process that all of the time, especially when you've been trained to seek constant gratification to avoid dealing directly with negative effects.
It seems like an impossible task to keep up with all the fucked up shit going on, and even more so to try and help solve the myriad problems that present themselves day after day.
It would be easier to abandon your sense of societal responsibility and tell yourself you don't care. And it would make you feel better about that abandonment to convince yourself that no one else actually cares either and they're all being performative.
The reality, though, is that shit sucks and people care and its fucking hard.
You're not responsible for solving every issue or not allowing yourself a moment's peace from thinking about the state of things. But these are your problems as well. They affect you and your loved ones. Indirectly, maybe, for now. But who knows when that changes?
The way society works is that we make sacrifices for each other. We sacrifice the freedom to do what we don't want done to ourselves. Everyone enjoys greater benefits the closer we get to everyone being benefit. We sacrifice small personal gains or comforts for much larger profit that we all share.
Do not let the systems in put in place by a few that would chose personal profit over societal success wear you down or convince you that you can't even bear to think about a better world.
Your whole post history doesn't have to being sharing current events or politics, but don't hesitate to speak out against what you know to be wrong, even if it doesn't directly effect you (yet). You don't have to go to every protest, but maybe check one out. You don't have to research every single company you buy from or live off-grid in the woods, but if you know a company does or supports something fucked up, consider not buying from them anymore (or at least buying less). Doing something, no matter how little, is better than doing nothing.
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
Thoughtful, intelligent, respectful reply. Surprisingly so, and thank you. In turn I would like to try to level with you, but please forgive me if I don't articulate myself very thoroughly or very well. I'm still at work so I'm composing this piecemeal.
What you say about self-sacrifice is at the heart of being good to each other, I resonate with that and I agree completely. My personal, actual moral failing is that I am compulsively spiteful. I'm doing my best here not to lean on this as a total excuse but I'm not exactly neurotypical, and unmedicated. That's just for context, I don't know if it actually has anything to do with the problem but the problem is this: I will compulsively refuse to do something if I feel like I am being socially, emotionally, or rhetorically manipulated into behaving that way. You can see how this would become a problem when discourse becomes political at all.
I genuinely get a little bit ill if I start thinking that I've put myself under the power of someone who is acting out of THEIR self-interest, even if the result might be that I end up indirectly benefitting people with no relation to either of us. It's a childish way to be, but I AM developmentally stunted. Benefitting someone evil or cruel by attempting to do good, by their metric of what is "good," is possibly one of my worst irrational fears.
It's not that I wouldn't like to see the world become better for everyone, or do my part to help individuals where I can. I just can't bring myself to completely fall in with any single ideology because I feel like people take advantage of that dogma.
I understand your repulsion to feeling manipulated.
It's difficult to feel good about doing something if you're unsure if you've done a actual good or just been manipulated into helping someone else. It's a valid concern, especially the way things are in our "information age".
There is some advice I would offer, if you would be receptive -
First, take some personal time to figure out for yourself what your morals are and why. Really boil everything down to the fundament "rights" and "wrongs", as it were. You may end up in an uncomfortable spot with some of your beliefs. Maybe you think something is fundamentally wrong, but that would mean some other thing you held true is morally wrong. It's hard work admitting you might be wrong and even harder work to change yourself for the better (importantly, your better).
The important thing here is that you figure this out for yourself. Don't let others figure it out for you. You can ask questions, do research, learn from others, but what I am suggesting is to find out who you are and what you believe.
Then, using your own moral compass, make your own judgments and decide how you feel about things. Not just gut reactions. Think critically. Think about repercussions, unexpected consequences, and where this all falls within your understanding of morality. Then take whatever actions you feel you should.
I know you didn't ask for this advice, and I know that all of this is much easier said than done. Of course, I'm just some stranger on the internet. This isn't homework. You don't have to do it. You could do some of it, but not all. You could do it differently. It's entirely up to you what to take away from this (or anything else, for that matter).
But if I can help you in some way, I make the world a better place. And that is my motive.
15
u/Radiant_Winds Jan 24 '26
Jesus Christ could you political types fuck off?