A grinning Nilhilist

Another vocabulary listen. They will stop, I promise.

Nihilism (from the Latin nihil, nothing) is the philosophical doctrine suggesting that values do not exist but rather are falsely invented. Most commonly, nihilism is presented in the form of existential nihilism which argues that life is without meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value. (link)

Grin, to smile broadly, often baring the teeth, as in amusement, glee, embarrassment, or other strong emotion. (link)

I have been describing myself as a grinning Nihilist lately. Others have called me a Socialist, a leftest, a liberal, a pinko, a Communist et al, and etc. I thought I might need something to counteract those slurs. Not that being a Socialist, a leftest, a liberal, a pinko, or even a Communist are terms that bother or insult me. I just hate being pigeonholed. Oh and yes I like to make folks, go huh, hmm, what, then Google.

Here is the thing. I don't really subscribe to any organized form of thought. I tend to distrust most human institutions. I am not an anarchist, I believe the human herd needs some sort of wrangling, but I am not convinced that one form of government has any more merit than any other. Sure, I could do all the research in the world, I could produce stat after stat that would make say Capitalism look far superior (mathematically) than Communism. I would be hard pressed to do so under a moral or even metaphysical microscope, so there. See is it not all bollocks?

What do I think, what do I believe? Nothing? Not exactly. I believe in the things I can see, hear, taste or touch. I believe in the infinite beauty that is Mother Earth. I believe in art as an expression of the fuzzy spiritual. That is the grinning bit. The Nihilist in me refers to a pessimism towards human concepts. For example, I do not believe in God, and I abhor organized religion. Religion is a system of human control that thrives because humans want the easy answer to the question 'why?'. Politics is a similar racket, one simply replaces the spiritual with the metaphysical. Voila a shiny new way to keep the masses in shackles.

But I am not defeatist, I do not think we are trapped in an all-consuming black hole of meaninglessness. My feeling is that, sure we have no idea why or how we are here, but Goddamn it we might as well enjoy the fact that we are. Like children set free in a candy store, take it all in, consume as much as you can, PARTY your ass off.

~We are here on Earth to fart around. Don't let anybody tell you any different~
~ Kurt Vonnegut