While this apathy is an important coping mechanism to some degree, it's important not to become complacent. It's precisely this apathy and hopelessness that authoritarian regimes cultivate to prevent action.

I don't think this registers as apathy in this context. Maybe you live in a country that has nuclear weapons and can vote for one leader or another. This may or may not have some impact on things. Certainly, we cannot influence what other countries do with their arsenals. Our mental stacks can only run so deep & I'd wager for most of us, the things that are in our sphere of influence simply take priority.

> This may or may not have some impact on things. Certainly, we cannot influence what other countries do with their arsenals.

It demonstrably does. Nuclear arms reduction treaties have been enacted in the past and it is hard to believe that it would have happened without the popular support it enjoyed.

Just because we are at a time in history where many of those treatise have been weakened or left by the wayside shouldn't be a reason for us to forget them and the good they did.

> Our mental stacks can only run so deep & I'd wager for most of us, the things that are in our sphere of influence simply take priority.

It's a challenge to look beyond ourselves, but we must have the courage to do so. Many people here have the resources to act in the interest of their family, their neighborhood, their community, and their country. It's hard not to be selfish. We can't all afford not to be. Most of us can, however.

This makes it sound like regimes like ours necessarily do not also engage in it, which seems "a bit off" to me.

I'm not sure what you mean by "ours" as this is the internet, but yes, to the extent that there are authoritarian elements in every government, most governments do this to some degree. It's important to fight against these authoritarian elements as best as one can, especially if you are in a position of influence.

It's also important, however, not to equivocate between totalitarian regimes like Russia and (albeit imperfectly) open democracies like the USA in instances like this. Just because no government is without sin does not mean they are all the same.

And just because you believe that yours is better (as most of your countrymen do, purely by coincidence) does not mean that it is necessarily true.

Humans love telling stories about the superiority of this or that. Humans hate wondering if these stories are true. Most cannot even try.

Most people also don't worry about whether what they think they have no control over is actually true.

Rocking chair is better than worrying, because rocking chair at least calms your anxiety.