So your righteous cause collapsed. Now what?

Let’s take a breath. Big inhale, big exhale. It's going to be okay.

Your cultural revolution, the one that was going to save civilization, uplift the oppressed, and maybe even get you a TED Talk, just caved in like a ton of bricks on a paper mâché foundation.

And now, here you are—standing in the wreckage, protest sign in one hand, Bluesky account in the other, still convinced that you’re a hero, even as the rest of the world stares at you like a guy arguing with a parking meter.

But let’s be real. This wasn’t a revolution. This was a high school clique with a manifesto.

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Step 1: Realizing you were just copying everyone else

You thought you were special. Unique. A free thinker. Hate to break it to you, but you weren’t even thinking. You were mimicking—like a parrot, but with worse posture.

Mimetic Theory 101:
Humans don’t desire things on their own. We copy the desires of people we admire (or fear), thinking we’re making “independent” choices, when in reality we’re just playing dress-up with other people’s opinions.

You didn’t discover your movement’s beliefs—you absorbed them like a wet sponge at a party you weren’t even sure you wanted to be at.

You weren’t fighting for truth—you were fighting for likes and retweets, just like the kid who joined every trend to fit in, even if it meant pretending to be someone else.

But it felt real, didn’t it? Because everyone around you believed the same thing—and if you ever doubted, they all gave you the look. You know the look. The one that says Are you one of us, or are you the enemy?

That’s not a movement. That’s a cult with better aesthetics.

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Step 2: Not everyone who disagrees with you is the devil incarnate

Now that your cause has gone belly-up like a poisoned fish, you have a choice.

You can:

• Admit you got swept up in something stupid, grow, and become a real person.

• Pretend you’re being persecuted and double down in your imaginary trench warfare.

If you’re leaning toward Option #2, I have bad news: that’s how people end up on street corners with cardboard signs that say The End Is Nigh and a wild look in their eyes.

Jesus, who—let’s be honest—was better at revolutions than you, said, “Love your enemies.” Not because it’s nice, but because hatred keeps you blind and stupid. When you demonize everyone who doesn’t agree with you, you stop learning. You become just another bitter zealot, clutching your old slogans like a security blanket.

Try this instead: As Ted Lasso put it, Be curious, not judgmental. Ask yourself why you needed everyone to be a Nazi in the first place.

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Step 3: Avoiding the next dumpster fire

Here’s where most people screw up. They think:

Well, my last movement collapsed, so I just need to find a better one!

WRONG.

That’s like getting out of a bad relationship and thinking the solution is to date someone exactly like your ex, but with a different haircut.

The problem wasn’t the movement. The problem was YOU. You didn’t choose your beliefs—you inherited them like a genetic disease from your social circle.

Mimetic theory tells us that people don’t just want things—they want what other people want. So if you want real independence, you have to stop outsourcing your desires to the loudest, trendiest, angriest people in the room.

Before you join a new movement, ask yourself:

Am I thinking, or am I copying?

If my entire social group changed their minds tomorrow, would I still believe this?

Am I here because I want justice or because I want to feel righteous?

If you can’t answer those questions honestly—you’re about to join another cult.

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Final Step: Actually becoming a person

So what now? You’ve admitted the last movement was a train wreck and you’re resisting the urge to jump into another one like the Fyre Festival 2.0.

Good. Now comes the hard part.

You have to:

1. Learn how to think without an echo chamber.

2. Pursue virtue for its own sake—not for applause.

3. Find meaning that isn’t based on hating the “bad guys.”

"You must unlearn what you have learned."
– Yoda, The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

At first, the truth will make you feel like an absolute moron. You’re going to feel stupid for a while. Let it happen. It’s called growth.

But if you do the work—if you stop chasing movements and status and moral fads—you might actually become something rare and valuable.

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tl;dr:

• You weren’t thinking—you were imitating.

• Your enemies weren’t evil—you just needed them to be.

• If you don’t wake up, you’ll fall for the same trap all over again.

• The only way out is to stop living for applause and start living for truth.

Or, y’know, you could just start protesting again and hope no one notices the irony.

Your call. 😘