The Loss of Idealism

- And The Rise of Nihilism

There is a common understanding of the word “idealism” which the public associates with the “ideal.” We say in our everyday speech, “ideally, John would like to be helping the homeless rather than enlarging his own home.” Or, “the ideal of a democratic nation consists of leaders selflessly serving those who elected them.”

It is this commonly understood meaning of “idealism” that this essay will address. In other words, the desire for a better world, a better tomorrow, an optimistic view of what is possible - and actions that match this worldview.

By common understanding and usage, the word “nihilism” stands in direct contrast and opposition to idealism. Some people understand nihilism as meaning a belief in “nothing” (the Latin word does indeed mean “nothing!”) - and they would in fact be not far off the mark, since nihilism denies meaning, denies purpose, denies moral values, denies the possibility of a better tomorrow, denies truth itself. Nihilism is understood very accurately by the public as representing the modern man or woman who, when confronted with truth or the folly of his or her actions, shrugs the shoulders (with an obviously exaggerated shrug!) and says - “whatever!”

The Democratic candidate for President of the United States, Robert F. Kennedy Jr (RFKJr) constantly appeals to the idealism that stirs within the human soul by hearkening back to the hope and optimism that seized the American nation during the short presidential term of his Uncle, John F. Kennedy. He claims that he wishes to restore the idealism of those years and resurrect the “American dream.” President Trump in his own inimitable way, also speaks a similar message and share the same idealistic vision with the American people.

Just as the voice of conscience may be suffocated, then strangled and silenced, the idealist within us may also be snuffed out and replaced by a pervasive nihilism. The latter is the order of the day for the legacy propaganda media (BBC, CBC, NBC, ABC, CNN, New York Times etc.).

Not content with their own, poisonous nihilism, they seek to infect the public with ever increasing doses of a brooding, cynical world view. Both RFKJr. and Donald Trump are therefore immediately branded “populists” and their brand of idealism is invested with a supposedly undesirable political movement called “populism.” By this definition, many proclamations of the American constitution and Declaration of Independence may also be declared, “populist” - including the proposition that all of us are created equal; and that the American people should constantly strive for “a more perfect union!”

It is now common knowledge that the legacy press and media are not trusted by the majority of the population. It could also be that the population is yearning for hope, for a peaceful revolution that recaptures the idealism of the past.

The idealist may sometimes be misguided. But with prayer, persuasion, patience and persistence, he or she may be brought back to reality and the pursuit of truth. Many young people, for example, who joined the counterculture (hippie) movement of the 1960s and 1970s were unpleasantly shaken out of their delusions of free love (sex), free food and free land - but they were idealists too.

In contrast, the nihilist may hear you out - but like an immovable rock, will not give you any indication of whether what you said made any impression at all. There will often be no facial expression at all, sometimes an icy half-smile - and sometimes, the familiar, exaggerated shrug of the shoulders, followed by “whatever.”

Very tragically for our times, the University too, which ought to be a hotbed of idealism, has been taken over by the nihilist. Both the student body and its faculty are dominated by a pervasive nihilism. The noisy minority make for the majority of news in our campuses - but for the majority of our students, nihilism is a way of life.

One of the great blessings of life is when we realize in middle age, that we have by a miracle, preserved the idealism of our youth. Our views might have mellowed, they might have become the fertile lava soil beneath the mountain rather than the heart of the volcano itself, but our idealism has survived intact the ravages of the years. It then becomes our sacred duty to impart something of the soul of idealism to our young people, including our children and grandchildren.

If God did not have hope for a better future for the human race, there would be no birth of the Saviour in Bethlehem, no Cross, no Resurrection and no hope of eternal life. But gloriously, because of the triumph of the Love of God in Jesus, the better tomorrow is available to all of us - both in this world and in the world to come, where the Lord God “from every eye shall wipe off every tear.”

It is therefore no exaggeration at all to say that God must be an idealist. Or else, he would not have invested so much in us.

If follows then, that the soul of idealism is a gift from God. We must pass it on.