If you already agree the resistance will ultimately lead nowhere, why not focus that energy on something with a better chance of success? Best guess would be partnering with someone like the EFF for a solution through lobbying And the courts.
Cynicism is an assumption. Cynicism is emotional armor because the thought of caring again and the risk of it not panning out is more painful than not caring at all.
The only rational aspect of cynicism is that it makes you feel better. It isn't relevant about one's actual ability to change the world.
If efforts in the past didn't work to affect political change? Change what you do. Change your tactics. Clearly many groups - including ones with little-to-no-money - can and do succeed to influence policy on a regular basis.
The worst thing you can do is to convince others not to do anything about it. And right after that is to do nothing about it yourself.
These strategies have been tried time and time again and have proved not to be strong enough to overcome economic forces.
Ever pay attention to all those groups (private sector or otherwise) that end up influencing policy creation? Ever think of trying to get other government agencies or already-trusted organizations on your side as opposed to trying to establish yourself as a credible voice to ocotogenarians who can't tell the difference between an expert and someone blowing smoke?
Finding allies to support your policy goals doesn't need to stop at asking random people on the Internet. It's a woefully underexplored area for Internet freedom activists.
Same concept applies to federal.
If everyone thinks so, then surely yes, but if people realize, that change starts in the small and they can be part of the change, perhaps at some personal cost, but that it might be worth it, then suddenly change is possible.
I’m not saying they have been enough to prevent things from getting worse, but they have actually done things that have staying power, and affect policy to this day, which is better than the track record of opting out as far as I know.