THE OTHER "N" WORD

Joe Klein thinks the GOP has become a haven for nihilists and I decided to look up the word in Britannica. Here's what I found:

Fundamentally, nihilism represented a philosophy of negation of all forms of aestheticism; it advocated utilitarianism and scientific rationalism. The social sciences and classical philosophical systems were rejected entirely. Nihilism represented a crude form of positivism and materialism, a revolt against the established social order; it negated all authority exercised by the state, by the church, or by the family. It based its belief on nothing but scientific truth; science became the cure-all for social problems. All evils, nihilists believed, derived from a single source—ignorance—which science alone would overcome.

The GOP's krazy base, and that includes Sarah Palin, certainly doesn't believe in scientific rationalism and in fact thrives on ignorance, so Brittanica's definition clearly isn't applicable.

Merriam-Webster has a couple of definitions and part of one comes much closer to an accurate description of the GOP:

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 truths
2 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 b capitalized : the program of a 19th century Russian party advocating revolutionary reform and using terrorism and assassination

Wingers do seem to think that there is an "alternate reality," one that confirms their prejudices and I suspect enhances their self-esteem.