Persistent Resistance

Breaking Free from the Outrage Cycle: A Call to Pursue Truth I’m frustrated with the state of the world. It feels like nothing in my background prepared me for this—if anything, I was raised to expect something completely different. Like a lot of people, I’m struggling to make sense of how society became so divided, reactive, and exhausting. What I’ve learned is that outrage on its own is a dead end. You can do one of three things with it: take action, learn to accept and live with what’s upsetting you, or just keep it to yourself. But social media doesn’t work like that. It feeds on outrage, encouraging us to post the same grievances over and over, pretending we’re shocked every time. Trump lied? No kidding, that’s his thing. The GOP did something hypocritical? That’s their entire brand. And yet, we’re trapped in this cycle of performative indignation, as if every example of bad behavior is a brand-new revelation. The Outrage Machine Social media makes outrage profitable. Every time y...

If one accepts the importance of storytellers in a culture—their role in shaping the dynamics of society, molding behavior, and influencing how we interact with one another—then we’re in trouble. A couple of weeks ago, I caught RED on TV. It was a double feature showing alongside RED 2 . Have you seen them? They’re entertaining, the kind of movies that make you laugh but don’t stick with you. RED stands for "Retired, Extremely Dangerous." Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, and John Malkovich play retired CIA agents caught up in the fallout from a past mission. They’re aided by Helen Mirren, a retired MI6 operative. I honestly can’t even recall the mission that dragged them back into action. It should matter, but it doesn’t. What sticks out instead is how much these characters bemoan the passing of days when they don’t get to kill someone. It’s a comedy, so I laughed along. I was entertained. And later, I reflected… this was essentially a convening of serial killers. From RED 2 ,...

🌱 Toxic Seed, Toxic Tree, Toxic Fruit How American Entertainment Nurtured the Rot in Our Republic January 27, 2025 · Persistent Resistance 💰 In the End, It's All About the Money Chaotic politics isn’t random. It’s a product of our toxic culture — a culture so deeply rooted we’ve grown indifferent to it, or worse, attached. Over time, we’ve normalized behaviors that should make us cringe. Now, we’re watching the consequences unfold everywhere — in politics, in the media, in everyday interactions. This didn’t start with ideology. It started with a seed: the death of civility. 📺 Jerry Springer and the Murder of Civility Before reality TV presidents, we had The Jerry Springer Show . What began as outrageous entertainment morphed into something darker: a blueprint for how to “win” an argument through volume, violence, and spectacle. And it didn’t air late at night — it aired at 4 p.m. Right after school. Right before dinner. Right when kids were watching — alone. The...