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.)
