The first step is a bit of introspection. Are they serving more as a safety net for you or are they truly hindering your advancement in life? You are hanging around them for a reason.
Perhaps these people serve as a sort of anchor for you. A way you use to keep yourself in place. If that is the case then you need to evaluate if you are in a place you wish to be.
If you are, or these people are making a good faith effort to keep you from what they see as a self destructive act, then they are not really trying to bring you down even if you will eventually discard their efforts and do whatever it is they think is wrong anyway. Being friends doesn't mean being in total agreement. Quite the opposite.
People you honestly care about are people your going to be frank with. That means at least occasional disagreements and from time to time trying to save them from a mistake. If these people are truly holding you back, constantly raining on your parade then it is probably time to cut them loose.
While they would not be in your circle if you did not value something about them, if the negative outweighs the good on a long term basis you are better off letting them drift off. I wouldn't just immediately sever ties. Their negativity may well be temporal and somewhere down the road you might rekindle the friendship.
This is probably not the answer your looking for, but perhaps is the answer you need.
I guess with the time you'll gradually stop caring about them. But you should have to ask them the reason that why they are doing this. Let them know that you don't like it.
If they still do the same then just leave them. Keep yourself busy and try be with those who care about you and want to see you happy.
I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.