What is the difference between apathy of the aware few and being hypnotically-dulled? I know what you meant, but I think it's more the apathy of the mass consciousness which would include latter and which causes one to despair. Indeed, I think hope lies in the aware few, though in the Great Scheme of Things, what may be the salvation of the world could be a LOT different than what human's would like to believe and may spell the end of the conspicuous consumer species.