drstrangegovt. Excellent answer. I have to agree. I'd say it's a sort of moral or spiritual 'death'. There absolutely is a difference between imposing on others and defending yourself, you're right. I've observed over time though that whatever you track, be it income, or the cultural/ethical achievements of a society, it constantly alternates gradually (or not so gradually) between an apex and degeneracy. Equilibrium is never achieved in the long run. I'm asking how you face the ultimate futility of the struggle for autonomy, in a world ruled, as it were by "principalities and powers"? Without an answer to this, ultimately, there is no meaningful point to the struggle at all. This is not meant as a blackpill so much as it's meant to ask you what your thoughts are on the observation itself. To NotHereFor, what do you make of western idealism and pathological altruism? We've obviously spent thousands of years infighting to develop the social, political, economic, and genetic disposition for group cooperation, and it's benefited us greatly in the long run. I don't think Drstrangegovt has been irresponsible, questions and opinions rarely are. Hes merely 'stuck' to develop in the historic role hes been handed by circumstance and the age we live in. Mythology always forms after, as the proto-psychology of culture, teaching important lessons, but thats only in hindsight. And the parables of old do not necessarily apply to today. Take Hercules for example. Hes dead, if he ever existed at all. He was resurrected as the "superman"or "overman" of the europeans but that idea too is stale and needs a fresh coat of paint if it is to inspire anyone at all. The demographic "ground" is fertile but the icons and symbols, the monuments and cathedrals of the collective mind need rebuilt, or at least, repurposed.