Welcome back to the real community! We made Steemit great again by seceding and then succeeding. The last few years have been hell for anyone with a streak of independence as "left" and "right" alike clamor for ratcheting up authoritarianism, and social media has been a morass of censorship.
I have to admit extreme suspicion of anyone with a military or law enforcement background nowadays. Y'all are the ones who were enforcing every political trespass even before COVID, after all. That said, some of you are the most vehement opponents of overreach now, too.
As for happiness, I find myself striving more for the mellowness of basic contentment as opposed to the thrill of the happiness roller-coaster. I know it sounds trite, but finding joy in small stuff has worked for me even as I acknowledge my own pain and struggle at the same time.
I totally agree with you, both sides are infringing on us. Covid was not about protecting anyone. Every step was an exercise of control and testing the population for future events.
Social media has been about control, framing the narrative and pushing people to conform. I dumped FB, IG and Twitter 2 years ago.
As far as my past in LE, I fall in the group that opposes the over reach of the government. And in law enforcement over reach is a daily issue. I have been out 6 years but the damage still lingers.
I also agree that simply being content would be a nice spot to be.
Looks like alot of agreeing.