Nihilists for Peace

Nihilists for Peace
By Daniel G. Jennings
There are many reasons why average people should be disturbed about the self-proclaimed peace movement but the most frightening thing about the peace movement is its embrace of nihilism.
The 1958 New Practical Standard Dictionary on my bookshelf gives a number of descriptions of nihilism including “the doctrine that nothing exists or can be known,” “a political doctrine holding that that the existing structure of society should be destroyed” and “in psychiatry a sense of unreality a delusion of non-existence.” The frightening thing is that the majority of present day advocates of “peace” can be described as nihilists using this definition.
The peace activists fall into two categories that can be described as nihilist. The first are the internationalists the people who believe that the United Nations or some other international institution shall bring about world peace if we put our faith in it. How this miracle will be achieved is not described, only if we put our blind faith in the UN or in the good will of all men we can have peace. Instead of trusting in the actions of existing nations or their militaries we are supposed to believe in phantoms called international law or cooperation and pray they will achieve peace.
The second is the modern Marxist, the old time Marxists believed that through the proper application of Marx’s theories usually following the formulas of Lenin or Mao world peace could be achieved. That a violent destruction of the world order could and would lead to peace if one followed Marx. The modern Marxist believes that simply overthrowing the existing order will bring peace and utopia. He or she doesn’t know how or why this will be achieved, only that if those in power step aside and let the downtrodden or their self proclaimed champions rise up and destroy the established order utopia will come. Every rebel is a champion of justice and peace. Every authoritarian a bad guy. By such thinking Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy and life long defender of slavery was a champion of freedom and Abraham Lincoln an evil tyrant because Davis was the rebel and Lincoln the leader of the established order.
Thus we hear modern peace activists claiming that the Islamic terrorists who want to destroy us and our civilization are simply misunderstood rebels. If we simply listen to them they’ll stop their violence and behave. This is nonsense, Bin Laden doesn’t want to be heard he wants to kill us. By listening to him, we’ll embolden him as our grandparents empowered Hitler.
These beliefs are rooted in nihilism as is the other folly behind modern peace thinking: appeasement. The idea that if we do nothing peace will occur if we don’t lift a finger to stop the tyrants and terrorists or throw them a few crumbs. they’ll start behaving themselves and we can live in peace. Appeasement worked wonders in 1939, it encouraged Adolph Hitler to start World War II or at least expand the war to Europe. The appeaser believes that by not taking a moral stand he can avoid conflict when he is really encouraging the aggressor. Appeasers are nihilists because they buy into a delusion the idea that peace can be achieved by refusing to take a stand. That idea didn’t work in 1939 and it won’t work today.
The nihilistic tendencies in the peace movement and the rest of the left should frighten us because they show that some of fellow citizens would rather see our world destroyed for their concept of peace. That isn’t peace it’s a sick ideology that leads only to the battlefield and ultimately the mass grave. All those who want to live must then stand up and say no the peace movement and its apologists in the media. Or be prepared to spend the rest of their lives in bomb shelters.