So part A is a widely discussed set of madness from both
conservative and liberal writers. You can find articles on this topic from the Atlantic
to the (pacific, sorry couldn’t resist) New York Times to the Bulwark to the
Guardian and more. And even a website called the Conversation.
So why bother adding to this list of esteemed writers if
this has been dissected before? I don’t know, but maybe it just helps to
understand that one third of this country has no direction except it thinks it
does, yet others include many thoughts, hate, apathy, or as on the
Conversation, the author references Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky saying: “explored
what happens to society when people who rise to power lack any semblance of
ideological or moral convictions and view society as bereft of meaning.” Trump
feels it has meaning, meaning for him. Or Tom Nichols saying the
movement is less about policy or compromise and more about pure destruction and
political anger. Or how about in the New Republic the article talks about the rule-breaking
approach of Trump administration figures, arguing their actions are
performance-driven rather than goal-driven. And this to me is more about greed
than nihilism.
And this last statement is part of the problem. Where does
the apathy of some meet the greed of others? And maybe it isn’t apathy, but a
complete throwing in of the towel to society can be better way to say, which is
more nihilistic. Apathy is lack of caring whether it be a better world, or a
better person while nihilism is complete dismissal of life or what it offers in
general if you want my distinction.
But you didn’t ask for that, so let’s move on. Nihilism is the
philosophical belief that life is without objective meaning, purpose, or
intrinsic value. So yes it is a step further from reality than apathy. Yet does
MAGA truly meet this definition? I do not think so.
There are subsets of thinking behind nihilism that also do
not describe MAGA. Some of these are the core principal mentioned above, moral,
cosmic or epistemological nihilism. That last one is a mouthful, anyway they all
pretty much say the same thing, there is no knowledge and it doesn’t matter
what you do to keep it super simple.
Now Trump’s administration demonstrates moral nihilism by
definition, but really they are either power driven or greed driven. They care,
but for all the wrong things morally.
MAGA wants something I just do not think they know what they
want. This is probably what causes this confusion around nihilism. And whatever
they want they are motivated by some type of hate partly caused by Democrats
and partly by Fox News. Yet to say they don’t care or have no compass, yet it
may not be pointing north, that isn’t the case. Does what they want have
meaning? If not then you can apply some nihilistic tendencies? I think buried
deep there is some meaning. Now it may be based on principles antagonistic to
our country’s values even though wrapped in patriotic fervor. In fact some of
it is antagonistic to our values, but they believe lies that let them think
they are the patriots. The problem is why they believe these lies, yet the
reason is not because they are nihilistic.
So all you great writers time to get out the pen and paper
and try to figure out what is driving them. Something is and until we figure
that out and counter balance it correctly this MAGA movement ripping up our
country is too entrenched for us to be able to have a rational government. Hence
we are stuck with the charlatan Trump and all the destruction he is doing to
our country until you great thinkers throw out another philosophy to muse on.
Or another words, dare I say……… we need something new. The
old ways are dying before our eyes. MAGA is just one monstrous symptom of the underlying
moral decay cancer eating away at our country that some of us are tired of watching.
MAGA is not the disease, it is a part of the body showing the disease.
And now for B:
That moral decay is what is right side up right now in our
country. There are answers to our problems, even good ones. Until we find the
leaders who are willing to stand up to the monsters we slowly rot and the
greatest government experiment on the planet turns to mush.
And yes I know there are a few voices trying, yet until they
break through the madness of social media, the loud quiet of so many Americans
who spend more time trying to budget than pay attention to what is causing
their budget morass we are in trouble.
What is wrong is up and what is right is buried deep beneath
the wrong. And for those of you who follow my second blog on Substack, you know
we live here on earth, where some are headed to the City of God, while others
live in the city of man. My creek for the moment is why can’t we sail through
the city of man and do the work of the moral high ground. There are hints we
can. So how do we claw our way back to the earth and bury the demons that do
not want us to do what is right? And you do not have to believe in demons to see
the upside down aspect of our world right now. I just ask you to open your eyes
and realize change won’t happen until we get the courage to confront the demons
of greed, power, lust for earthly things and more. There is nothing wrong with
being successful, it is appreciating what opportunities you were given and
allowing others to share in the beauty of what we are given.
Cheers
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