Nihilism

My Word of the Day the day after the inauguration. Interesting! Below the definition of nihilism is a snippet of an article that first brought this word to my attention. It does seem to me that we are not just on the path to nihilism, we are there!

nihilism
One entry found.
Main Entry:
ni·hil·ism Listen to the pronunciation of nihilism Listen to the pronunciation of nihilism
Pronunciation:\ˈnī-(h)ə-ˌli-zəm,
Function:noun
Etymology:German Nihilismus, from Latin nihil nothing — more at nil
Date: circa 1817

1 a: a viewpoint that traditional values and beliefs are unfounded and that existence is senseless and useless b: a doctrine that denies any objective ground of truth and especially of moral truths2 a: a doctrine or belief that conditions in the social organization are so bad as to make destruction desirable for its own sake independent of any constructive program or possibility bcapitalized : the program of a 19th century Russian party advocating revolutionary reform and using terrorism and assassination

The Cybercast News interview with the jurist Judge Robert Bork also touched upon the place of religion in public life.

“I don’t think the disputants talk much about God anymore,” Judge Bork commented. “That’s one of the things that I think is regrettable--and I know liberals have said the same thing, it is not a conservative position particularly--but it is regrettable that religion has dropped out of our public discourse. I think it impoverishes it and makes it more violent.”

He explained that he believed this violence was not armed conflict, but rather “violent language and propaganda.”

Judge Bork said he also thought that America is “now going down a path towards kind of a happy-go-lucky nihilism.”

“A lot of people are nihilists,” he continued. “They don’t think about religion. They don’t think about ultimate questions. They go along. They worry about consumer goods, comfort, and so forth.

“As a matter of fact, the abortion question is largely a question about convenience. If you look at the polls about why people have abortions, 90 percent of it has nothing to do with medical conditions. It’s convenience. And that’s I think an example of the secularization of an issue that ought to have a religious dimension.”

When asked whether a nihilistic society can remain “happy-go-lucky” for long, Judge Bork replied: “I don’t know. I guess we are going to find out.”