Passionate, Not Serious
Venting and solving are different. Down in the cheap seats or in small rooms of power, we confuse one for the other.
I’ve long said a lot of people are passionate but not serious. It’s on-brand for me—observational-cynic nonsense and a subtle way to act like I’m above it all. But it’s on my mind a lot, and I hate that it seems more true than ever.
Today, no issue is too trivial to land a tribal political point. Pothole on Main Street? It’s Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon until we get to Trump or progressives. At the same time, every day brings a new moral panic: Flock cameras, data centers, growth. Whatever’s next.
Read 500 comments... Maybe you’ll find one or two figuring out what to do.
But that’s the thing, right? Passion is easy; seriousness demands focus on what might change something. And it occasionally forces you to think: Maybe there’s nothing useful for me to do here.
The world doesn’t need more policy nerds, and venting is normal. But venting and solving are different, and sometimes, whether it’s down in the cheap seats or in small rooms of power, we confuse one for the other.
Some people don’t understand that; others don’t care. That second option bothers me more.
Seriousness makes you (or at least me) less certain. That’s OK; principles grow from tested uncertainty, among other things.
Maybe the law allows the thing you hate. Or your side’s favorite argument may be garbage. The available solution may not deliver the satisfying, total victory your team demanded. All less fun than being furious—but also more useful.
Less certainty—or maybe just more intellectual openness—also means I don’t have much interest anymore in comment-box body-slamming. MAGA guy, communist, anarchist, progressive activist, deeply religious conservative, whatever... have at it. The public square is big. Sticks and stones, etc.
There’s probably a middle ground, although people hear phrases like that and immediately think I lack commitment to the cause, whatever the cause may be. Meanwhile, I keep hoping for a little less passion. Or at least a little less performative passion. And a little more seriousness.
Maybe we’d even get some things done.
Greg W. Brooks. First published on LinkedIn, Aug. 11, 2026.