There are a lot of times where there is nothing you can do. Fighting in the face of certain defeat is also a poor decision. As much as I understand your dislike of defeatism, there is a similar danger of being aimlessly angry and flailing about in a haphazard manner -- which I think it just as prevalent as defeatism. One of the reasons we actually choose corrupt officials to govern us in the first place is because they successfully rally our anger against something and promise to fight for our cause.

When there is nothing you can do, you must wait and look for an opportunity. It's not so much the giving up on fighting that's the problem, it's the giving up on hope. Improvements come slowly and are the result of much patient work.

Having said that, I hate waiting as much as the next person. :-(