I read an article today about a group of self-identified “nihilists” who tossed a bunch of paint-filled light bulbs at an Olympia City Councilman and his business in protest over one of his political positions.

The stupidity of the controversy aside, I can’t help but howl at the stupidity of their affiliation. For a political activist to claim nihilism as their philosophy is self-contradictory. What are we teaching kids in school these days?

By the time I graduated from high school I was well informed (from my high school education, not extra-curricular study) of the teachings Immanual Kant and Friedrich Nietzsch.

Anyone with a libaray card or an internet connection can spend five minutes reading the Cliff’s Notes on nihilsm and rationalism to discover that nihilists don’t believe in anything, let alone the ability to change anything at all. Even had they the ability to bring about change, a nihilst denies their moral imperative to do so.

The fact that they call themselves “anarchists” in the same sentence as “nihilists” further demonstrates their ignorance.

The light bulbs of paint these common vandals threw at buildings and people are bad enough, but shouldn’t we expect a better educated counter-culture in our state’s capitol city?

If these kids are still in high school, then perhaps their teachers can assign some remedial reading on basic philosophy. If reading is too difficult for them, then at least ask them to watch a couple movies, like “Fight Club” or “I ♥ Huckabees” and they can get a better idea of what they are supposed to believe as “nihilists.”

Who knows? The lessons might save a few light bulbs and cut down on a certain Olympia Councilman’s dry cleaning bill.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 10th, 2008 at 11:44 am and is filed under Community Forum, Local & National News, Local Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.