Do your best to resist cynicism, because cynicism destroys nuance, and almost everything valuable in life exists inside nuance.

Resist saying cynical things like “who cares about privacy; your data is already out there”, “who cares about stopping climate change; it’s already too late”, “who cares about voting; we don’t have a functioning democracy any more”, and any number of similarly simplistic, thought-destroying defeatisms.

Cynicism is often faux-intellectualism: it’s attempting to impress people with rational-sounding generalizations that lead to absurd, self-harming behavior; it’s a claim of “being real” while no longer wanting think through the problem; it’s feeling superior by kicking a table on which someone else is doing their homework.

Cynicism can often be a way to cope with continuing trauma: trying to make a change but getting beaten down; recognizing systems of injustice yet not seeing any positive change. But cynicism blinds you to opportunities for change that may arise—however rare—and has you surrender before the next fight has even begun. Worse, it risks turning you into an agent of defeat who prevents others from doing their good work.

Cynicism destroys nuance, and nuance is necessary for perspective.

Nuance exists even during a crisis—it’s arguably even more important then. Things can always get worse, and things can always get better. Working to make things better is always worth doing. Telling people to give up is not; it’s a defeatist’s easy way out.

• #opinion