[mcantelon]

>The government is not just them, it's also you, and sitting on the sidelines being cynical is supporting them.

One can be cynical without being resigned. Cynicism is recognition of the depth and breadth of corruption and not necessarily equivalent to apathy.

But you're right that the corruption we see in the government is a reflection of our own corruption. The mess we now find ourselves in wouldn't be possible without generations of self-deception, apathy, and twisted values. We let ourselves be conned into building the world that the founding fathers warned us against. We'll likely only wake up when survival itself is at stake.