Nihilism Politics and a Call to Action
A lot of young people do their best to appear as though they truly believe that everything is meaningless and you shouldn’t have any loyalties to anything, but it’s often nothing more than a defense mechanism.
If the people responsible for systematic oppression, war, economic disparities, climate change, etc. do not care about the damage they are causing, and if our politicians still have not done anything to stop them, what on Earth can we do?
In the end, not caring turns out to be easier than actually having to face the fact that Nihilism, the idea that all our values have no basis and our problems seem to be so much bigger than us as individuals, could have some truth to it and it leaves us with no definite answer or solution to our troubles.
I think that this empty void is a big reason why people decide not to vote.
For some, this is a way to take a stand against a system they disagree with, some have an underlying fear of having to make a decision on things they don’t feel like they understand enough, but for most, it’s a mix of both.
We feel like we have been left without identities, with nothing left for us but a meaningless existence – and that can be scary.
We have been the sheep of religious institutions that control our faith, of dictators that control our every move, and now of a system so ingrained into our identity that it has come to control our minds.
If you decide not to vote, whatever your reason may be, the message you are sending to politicians is that they don’t have to listen to you.
The excuses coming out of the mouths of politicians and voters alike mean nothing if they do not translate into action. By watching things around you unfold and not doing anything for or against them, you become a bystander.
Consider the following: if we do not stand up for what we believe is right, it is no different than agreeing with what we think is wrong.
In the end, the result is the same: no change happens and those who are the most vulnerable in our society are left to fend for themselves, despite the obstacles but in their way by the current state of affairs.
We think politicians control us when in reality their job is to represent the people.
We are the ones to give them power and the only ones capable of taking away said power if they are abusing it.
Democracy is an ongoing project, an experiment even, and the moment we stop putting an effort into preserving it, it slips through our fingers and nations crumble under the thumb of dictatorships.
Where there is true apathy, there is no Nihilism, for there is no thought.
The moment we let others convince us they can think for us, we are brought down even lower by the weight of feeling powerless and in lack of control of what is happening around us. It is not a solution, it is salt to an infected wound.
By voting, we show politicians that we know what we want and will elect those who represent our values and our needs in the best way possible.
Then, by staying informed and involved in politics, we are showing them that if they do not follow through with their promises once they are elected, their words mean nothing. Parties should not work like private enterprises and we should not act like their clients.
They should work together and make long term plans to make societal life better instead of saying whatever we want to hear in order to give them another mandate.
We are not weak for having convictions and standing up for them, and we will not be satisfied with going about our daily lives with our heads down while others make decisions for us.
Instead of sinking deeper into how amazingly big the world and its problems seem to be, we have to realize that, if each of us would plant a seed in an empty field, life would be more likely to sprout than if we hoped that someone else would do it.
And if we all do it together, it is more likely to happen faster.
Making what seems to be a small contribution to society will always be more fulfilling, and meaningful, than pretending not to care about not being able to fix the world all by yourself.
See you at the polls.
Written by: A. E.
