This was so me the past 5 years; doom spirally, no hope, escapism. It took the government black-bagging my neighbors during their commutes to kick me out of it. No one from up-top is going to help, but if you look to your real-world neighbors, I'd be surprised if you didn't find a bounty empathy and solidarity beneath the layers of fear and desperation. Over here, things are extreme, but Canada and the UK are disturbingly close to joining Nazi Bell End Land too.

Ironically, this year has been the most hope I've felt in decades. Thousands over here have realized you don't need to wait for someone to give you orders to start acting; you can... just do it. Grass-root networks are tracking our vulnerable, getting them legal counsel, and raising mutual aid funds for their families; neighbors are going out of their way to form new bonds, potlucks are becoming common; I live in an area with a lot of local farms and backyard gardens--we're starting to collaborate and may be able to become a food independent neighborhood; potential pathway to become energy independent with solar and microgrids as well; there's an ongoing campaign to curtail landlord abuses with a long-term goal of tenant owned properties; people showing up in mass to town halls and actually succeeding in getting our mayors to act; mass adoption of encrypted communication; and FOSS is gradually normalizing.

There's a lot of hope out there, just don't expect to see it broadcast. Shout out to all the mothers out there; you all have the least amount of time, but are still the backbone and brains to our communities.