A Tale of Two Realities
It’s disorienting to live in two worlds at once.
When I go out into the world or go to work I am in a different reality than when I’m alone or with people I’m truly aligned with. Let me explain.
I know that in my country in 2026 there is massive amounts of civic unrest and upheaval, as a result of unchecked authority exercised across cities like Minneapolis by you-know-who. I know you’re probably aware of it too, so I won’t focus on that entirely, but broadly speaking here are things impacting America and the western world:
There are massive amounts of inflation/devaluation of currency, causing affordability issues for housing, and essentials like groceries and utilities. Homelessness is on the rise. People working multiple jobs just to get their basic needs met is on the rise.
There is massive amounts of surveillance all around us. Our peers. Our phones. The corporations and the government entities. The young people and kids are stressed. Melatonin is marketed to children at your local grocery store.
Loneliness is on the rise. People turn to the internet (guilty) and to AI chatbots. In extreme cases, people are dying because of psychosis caused by isolation and the feedback loop of talking to a yes-man robot.
There are families being torn apart, as parents and children are separated and sent to detention centers in America, with no due process, and no transparency about what’s happening and if they’ll be allowed to leave. They are fed expired food in small portions.
Maybe you don’t care about what happens to the people in those camps, maybe you care about America and her legacy though. They tore out Jackie Kennedy’s Rose garden at the white house and destroyed the east wing of the white house - the part of the building that had the First Lady’s office, to build an unnecessarily large ballroom. They changed the name of the Kennedy Center to include Trump’s name for no real reason other than to suit his ego.
I could go on.
But that is all very real, verifiable stuff happening in reality.
The ‘other’ reality? That’s where you are at work chuckling about the latest small talk with your coworkers. You chat about the boring Super Bowl 60 game, maybe someone gives an unwanted opinion about Bad Bunny. Maybe you engage, maybe you don’t. There’s nothing that sticks in this reality though. It is a world comprised of teflon.
No one talks to each other about Renee Good’s death, or Alex Pretti’s. It’s all smiles and meetings about deadlines and emails and mental noise about things that are inconsequential to a life well lived.
None of this shit is real.
What do you do about it? Do you just become completely nihilistic and check out completely? “Oh well. I’m okay if the world ends.” is a common remark by peers and coworkers — most of them in their 20’s, at the beginning of their life. Let that sink in— the young people are without hope.
I think checking out is the right answer, but you have to apply it to the appropriate ‘reality’; the reality comprised of quotas and marketing strategies and office politics is the one you should mentally tune out of.
I’m not suggesting anything new, this is just a description of the ‘quiet quitting’ phenomenon in workplaces.
Quiet quitting, at its core, is about not being exploited. We need the money to live, so we stay in jobs that bleed us dry, but we give it the bare minimum of energy and effort each day - ‘cause fuck ‘em, that’s why. Your job posting will be listed faster than your obituary. “We’re all family here” is accurate if your family is a bunch of people who can’t talk about anything real or uncomfortable. You’re expected to give them a two weeks notice in America, but they can fire you whenever and leave you homeless and absolutely fucked, and they won’t lose sleep over it.
In this way, quiet quitting is an act of self preservation, and it applies to more than jobs. You can quietly quit as a student and still get work done, but not be affected by all the things happening in that realm. You can quietly quit the unsupportive friendship, where the other person is unable or unwilling to engage with you about anything in a meaningful sense, and in fact you should. Still call them, still catch up with them, but remember the old adage: all the world’s a stage.
To those that love me and who know me — I am not depressed. I am not a miserable person. I am not angry, but I see clearly, and by nature and virtue I am wholly incapable of shutting the fuck up about it. When I said “invest in people - they’re always worth it.” I meant it with my whole chest. I’m bothered by what’s happening to people in this world, not because I want to signal that I’m a good person (I know I’m not) because that’s what love looks like when you see things clearly.
If you’re like me - lost and feel uncertain about the future, just hang on. If the situation was truly hopeless, no one would be speaking up about these things. You still need to play in both realities if you are working class like me, just remember which one is actually real. If your ancestors from 100 years ago were here with you, they probably wouldn’t understand your white-collar office job, but you know what they would understand? Injustices and unchecked power crushing people. Use that as your litmus test to decide what is real and act accordingly.
In conclusion, acknowledging that situations are bleak doesn’t mean you are being a buzz kill. Not being able to escape thinking about current events isn’t a sign that you need a break, it’s a sign that something deep in your DNA wants you to do whatever you can to fight it - fight the authoritarianism, not the instinct. Instincts, unlike administrations and powerful people, will never lie to you.
