I understand the impulse to ignore that and declare it all so corrupt that it's not worth caring about, but ultimately, I think that judgment is somewhat irresponsible, even self-indulgent -- which isn't to say that I don't empathize with some of the sentiments underlying it.

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Let me say this about that: so may one judge another.

By this I meantersay that such judgements must be made by each of us in the tangle of our wits, hearts, experiences, and consciences. And while I'm not refuting Glenn's statement, I will note an element that begs the question: the "impulse" may manifest more intensely for some than others, depending on the range and sensitivity of the person's Crap Detectors-- or, if triggered often enough, may rise to the level of a presentiment or conviction.

And the functional or operational consequences of "yielding" to such impulse(s)-- though whether one "yields" to convictions that seem to force themselves upon one is itself semantically problematic-- is a personal, private struggle. One must somehow cope with one's honestly come by predilections for fatalism, defeatism, despair, cynicism, bitterness, nihilism, etc.

Glenn being Glenn-- and praise be to him!-- giving oneself over to paralyzing negativity feels or seems (there's no more precise verb I can think of) irresponsible and self-indulgent. That's fine with me, because I admire his tireless virtuosity. But from inside the Shadows, it could be equally argued that projecting optimism and championing incessant activism "within the system" in the face of evidence that the status quo is structurally corrupt and rigged beyond reform is a form of whistling past the graveyard-- and thus, is itself irresponsible or self-indulgent.

It depends on where one is coming from-- which is a neat segue to another of my incessant hops into the Wayback Machine: speaking of predilections, I was very much a bong-sucking member of the high school Freak contingent, Class of 1973. At that time, a local mall record shop was selling colorful posters featuring alleged quotes from rock stars of the day.

I still remember one in particular which immediately caught my eye. When I came out of the store, my waiting buddies wanted to see which one I'd chosen. It was a quote attributed to Janis Joplin, to wit: "Don't Compromise Your Self. It's All You Got." (I especially liked that way "Your Self" was written; it seemed more lapidary and pointed than "Yourself" would've been.)

My buddies howled and high-fived with satisfaction-- they knew that was the one I'd choose. Was I so transparent? Apparently!

The poster didn't survive, alas! I wish I still had it. Perhaps this is simply a foolish consistency of mine, but I still look askance upon the conventional piety lauded throughout history, and endorsed by such diverse persons as Joseph Conrad and Sigmund Freud, that "maturity" is being "well-adjusted" enough to abnegate one's Self for the greater social good.

Here I stand; God help me; I can do no other. I just don't hold with abnegation.

To one, an apocryphal Janis Joplin quote; to another, the Serenity Prayer...

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PS: FWIW, I stick around and do my bit in my own little way because I admire Glenn and support his work and goals; in a way, Glenn challenges and "tests" my abiding pessimism, and I deem this tension to be constructive and worthwhile.

Re: the Thomas Jefferson quote Glenn cites in the Update--

This is why we're paying Glenn the big bucks. ;)