2112

A life of godless materialism may seem attractive in some ways, but carries some major disadvantages even in this world. One of these is a remarkable discomfort with the idea of other people having opinions you don't share: Randall's own sensitivity in this respect has been extensively documented. Since he doesn't really believe in anything, he can have no sense of perspective, and is buffeted helplessly along by any viewpoint strongly expressed. Nothing is especially meaningful, which means that all things are equally meaningful, and the only way he can imagine escaping is for other people to stop having convictions (notice that turning off the goddamn phone is not an option).

A man with no convictions is pathetically voluble with respect to even the most ridiculous frivolities. I hate Randall's materialism, so I write stupid blog posts and then go to bed. Randall is unable to sleep because there are anti-vaxxers, but if he felt strongly about it he might not be able to think of himself as a Good Person anymore.