A Problem of Nihilism: Essay 2

For this next essay, I apologize to anyone put off by the sudden veering into political critiques and US history. That seems to be where I began heading toward an impasse, when the first essay would lead one to believe I was going to address a larger philosophical issue. (But who knows where things will wind up eventually?) The original intent, in any event, was a writing exercise of 500-word essays (in which I was working out some issues I was preoccupied by).

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"A Problem of Nihilism: Essay 2"

 

So, those are some things to think about if one cared to. A bit dreary, I suppose. But this is not a quest for sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows.

Nor is it meant to be an argument for atheism. But doubts about any purpose to the world or the existence of God are a bit inevitable if we talk about criminal behavior and mass murder.

And that brings us to Donald Trump and our Republican Party. It all began when Rupert Murdoch sought to become an agent of conservative propaganda in the US... Oh, no, wait -- back up; it did not all start with Rupert Murdoch. Or with those Koch brothers, or that Adelson guy. Those withered old Säcke Scheiße were only the result -- the nadir if you will pardon my language -- of a still more ancient phenomenon.

It would be best to start about a hundred years ago when the US government had to be concerned with monopolies in industries and natural resources. And this was not just some fuss raised by guys who fought in the streets, waved red flags, and carried Communist Party membership cards. A few wealthy people in control of key sectors of an economy meant there was too much power in the hands of too few "citizens." As that became more of a problem, it led to antitrust laws.

But that was a small bump in the road for those who liked to have a few wealthy people in charge of everyone's lives. A reaction set in, and unchecked capitalism was soon on the march once more. Or at least it was until the stock market crashed in 1929, leading to the Great Depression. This time government had to step in for the sake of survival. A new one led by Franklin Roosevelt provided public relief through various programs and legislation and sought to put people back to work.

For some, it was a frighteningly socialistic time. And there would be more omens to come. The government had nationalized the radio airwaves in 1927. A few years later, the Communications Act of 1934 would reaffirm that the means for broadcasting -- how the people would get news and entertainment -- was "public property." (The same would apply to television as well.)

The United States emerged from the Depression by mobilizing to fight the Second World War. Roosevelt's leadership in both crises inspired some consensus about the beneficial aspects of the "New Deal." As a result, the Democratic Party would dominate the US Congress from 1933 to 1995. But the country also experienced the "unrest" of the 1960s and '70s. (Which meant the Civil Rights Movement, antiwar protests, urban riots, liberalized social norms, and so on.)

A Problem of Nihilism: Essay 1

About a decade ago, I had a job that required a commute of just over an hour to get to work. That gave me some time to think about things. I eventually recognized that certain areas of research and rumination led to serious doubts about meaning and value in life. I finally had an idea to combine the various topics in a writing exercise for 500-word essays. But I reached an impasse when I realized I had not wanted to write an overly long and complicated analysis of entire historical periods. (I also became extremely busy with the cartoon series “Scum On Top.”) So, these essays end where I left off, but they now serve as a foundation for most of what I’m addressing in "Scum (Back) On Top."

According to my notes, although I wrote the essays much earlier, I had settled on a preliminary title as dated “4-19-21:  Republicans, the Radical Right, and the Final Victory of Nihilism: A Primer.”

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"A Problem of Nihilism: Essay 1"

 

For the past few years, I have thought that anyone who wanted to test their religious faith might consider three areas to examine. (This would also apply to test one's belief in a "purpose to the world."

 

 Serial killers. In themselves, the extent of the crimes and the relative impunity with which the killers operate are disturbing enough. The number of them in the 1970s alone is startling. And while the atrocities of Dean Corlii are horrifying, someone like Gary Ridgway and his casual disposal of scores of victims is baffling. A meaningful order in things might seem a bit in doubt when a man can get away with killing a human being every other week or so for a long time.

Organized crime. Corruption is routine. Anyone can be "leaned on," bought off, or otherwise used. Any offender can be "rubbed out," which is at most a necessary evil. Tribal loyalty is the basis of ethics, though that is still tenuous, as "honor" can be a pretense for obedience. And as epitomized in the climax of the film "The Godfather," there can be quite a gulf between formal observance of religious ritual and "how things are in the real world." (Which is implicitly atheistic, with no God recognized as a barrier to any evil.)

Genocide. The mass murder of entire peoples. From the most ancient times, in tribal warfare, wherein people of a vanquished foe are utterly wiped out. Then with the rise of great empires that crush all dissent. Later, expanded wealth and technical knowledge led to naval voyages that resulted in "discoveries" of "New Worlds" and the spread of colonial empires. Native peoples are conquered and corralled and nearly eradicated, their victims to a great extent unnumbered, unnamed and unknown.

That anonymity and offhand disposal of the victims seem to be distinctive features of all of the above. A further instance would be that of the peoples of Africa, who were notably subject to slavery. Bought and sold as if they were a kind of livestock, barely named or known except as one would one's farm animals. And even long after emancipation, they could still be dispensed with in a lynching or an isolated unsolved murder here and there.

In Nazi Germany, of course, the victims were numbered and known, like inventory items. The process reached a level of efficiency that seems to have set a standard. In that odd case, the enemies were not so much "real" (in the way Carthaginians might be) as they were scapegoats, seen as specters of pure evil. (A delusion that came from decades of being exposed to notions about racial "health" and "purity." The threat came from anyone who did not "belong," from those deemed "unfit" or "unworthy of life." Or who otherwise seemed a "danger," likened to invasions of vermin or an "infection" in the "body.")