I think one of the causes for the situation in the U.S. is isolation. Both that the bad actors are too isolated from their fellow human, and that people of good will feel alone in facing rising assholedom.
It’s helped me to physically go to gatherings of people who are like minded. To be reminded that you’re not alone. We’ll never get everyone on our side, but I believe we can get enough.
How do you find these in person gatherings, most of my socialization with other Americans happens through work and I cannot be my authentic self at work because that has negative consequences in my experience, the American work culture is kind depressing, where everyone seems to be in some rat race to be the most busy and most productive or at least pretend to be so, most of my interactions lack human warmth and it all feels fake and performative, I have to be guarded about what I say so that it doesn’t come back to bite me even with colleague’s of the same level and I am tired of the expectations of overwork and constant threat of being laid off of the right people don’t have a high opinion of you.
For me I’ve been involved in an anti gerrymandering group, which definitely fulfills the “like-minded” category. But there’s still value just in connecting with people outside work even if it’s not ideological, so things like classes, hobbies, casual sports/exercise, anything that has regular meetings.
I feel overwhelmed a lot lately.
I think one of the causes for the situation in the U.S. is isolation. Both that the bad actors are too isolated from their fellow human, and that people of good will feel alone in facing rising assholedom.
It’s helped me to physically go to gatherings of people who are like minded. To be reminded that you’re not alone. We’ll never get everyone on our side, but I believe we can get enough.
How do you find these in person gatherings, most of my socialization with other Americans happens through work and I cannot be my authentic self at work because that has negative consequences in my experience, the American work culture is kind depressing, where everyone seems to be in some rat race to be the most busy and most productive or at least pretend to be so, most of my interactions lack human warmth and it all feels fake and performative, I have to be guarded about what I say so that it doesn’t come back to bite me even with colleague’s of the same level and I am tired of the expectations of overwork and constant threat of being laid off of the right people don’t have a high opinion of you.
For me I’ve been involved in an anti gerrymandering group, which definitely fulfills the “like-minded” category. But there’s still value just in connecting with people outside work even if it’s not ideological, so things like classes, hobbies, casual sports/exercise, anything that has regular meetings.