Don’t Fear the Feces

The system was present everywhere not so much as ideology but as conformity; the temptation was simply to let it function. To be sure, it was easier when the dissident reported on himself. Yet doing so was to give up dignity; as the dissident and the brewmaster agreed afterward, “Everything is shit.” Cynicism about the system slips into nihilism that serves the system.

— Timothy Snyder, On Freedom (2024)