
Catholics are taught at an early age that someone is always watching you. As a child, I didn't think of this as surveillance (not a term that the Baltimore Catechism is familiar with), but rather as being benignly supported in my efforts to be a good person.
I had no sense of limitations or boundaries growing up. I was there to grow into myself.
I've tried hard in my career to explain to colleagues and to shadowers that 1) honesty is the best policy because it's most efficient; 2) that "Every wall is a door" (Ralph Waldo Emerson); 3) that harboring resentments or engaging in finger-pointing hurts you most of all because it sucks your attention and focus into proving your hypothesis; and 4) that there is always something to learn from another, especially if you can put yourself in her/his shoes.
There's not enough time left on my runway to spend my energy negatively. Observing the current state of politics is enough of a time sucker. I'll spend my time working to change the world, one project (or one class) at a time.