I feel much the same way, and I can only offer my own rather fatalistic take on it. Maybe it helps.

Yes, the world is on fire, and yes most of our leaders are owned by billionaires who are speed running fascism, but you aren't. You (and I, and many others) see this for what it is, so we all have to make a choice: stand up or lie down.

You can lie down of course, most do. Some out of apathy, some fear, many ignorance. It's a simple, but short and painful life. You can also stand up, but it's a brutal and thankless job. Progress is measured in centimetres and in my experience it takes at least a dozen people working together to move the needle even a little bit: a social justice defended here, a bike lane installed there. It's slow and gruelling work but it's the only way that needle moves without resorting to violence.

Join a local action group. I've joined the Green Party here in the UK, but when I lived in Canada I was with either them the NDP. Small parties have the advantage of not being corporately controlled, but as a result they need a lot of volunteers. You can find real purpose there.

It doesn't have to be strictly political either. Lots of groups are single-issue activists and they can be very effective. Years ago I worked with the Toronto Public Space Committee, and those were some of the best years of my life

It's hard work, but the victories, however small will be shared with like-minded people. You'll be ridiculed by family and despised by many others, and you probably won't win... but "we don't fight fascists because we will win. We fight fascists because they are fascists."

The way I see it, if the world is going to hell, I don't want to look back on my role in it and wonder why I didn't at least try to push back. So I do crazy things, like run for seats on city council. I lost by just over 100 votes in my ward a few weeks ago, but I also helped get six other Greens into council and that's not nothing.

"If nothing you do matters, then all that matters is what you do".