What if I told you that asking someone a question in a description is a rhetorical device used by writers to grab your attention? Did it work? Hopefully. Anyway, let's talk about nothing, shall we? I really do mean nothing, as in nihilism. Most people loathe nihilism. The reasons vary from person to person. You hear the godless heathen argument, the moral decay argument, the destruction of society argument, the depression argument, all of which mean mostly nothing...at least to me anyway. Nihilism has been characterized as encouraging anarchy while at the same time promoting self harm and laziness. This can be seen in films like the Big Lebowski, where moronic German characters show up for apparently no reason and try to steal from the dude because they believe in nothing. Yet they do believe in stealing. I mean, they are thieves. I could give a whole course in the holes of modern movie scripts, but that is beside the point. The other archetype of the nihilist is Heath Ledger's depiction of the joker in the movie, The Dark Knight. The joker makes several references to believing in nothing; this character has beliefs too however. In the interrogation scene between the joker and batman, the joker states that he does not want to kill Batman because he would not be able to exist without him. Thus, the Dark Knight's joker takes on an almost Zen form of nihilism where he is the foil to Batman's charitable nature. Batman giveth and the Joker taketh away...or something like that. True nihilism is far more complicated than being a lazy thief or a self destructive egoist. It is, as Friedrich Nietzsche called it, a passion for knowledge. You start life anew when you become a nihilist, in a very similar way that religious people refer to their "rebirth". It is much the same feeling. You are free to live your life and to be its creator. You are the artist of your own perception. Nihilism can give one great control over their life; it gives one the ability to stop comparing themselves to others, to know that everyone uses the toilet just like you do. You finally see that the king has no clothes. You are aware that words are meaningless, but this does not mean that actions are. You become more of an active player in life, not an observer or someone who sits on the side lines because you recognize that you have nothing to lose, that what you have to say is just as important or meaningless as anyone else. In many ways, the negative response to nihilism is a sign of poor education as to what nihilism actually is. Most of the nihilists I know are normal people that you would never guess were nihilists, even after speaking with them. I guess what I am really saying is that we are not the jokers that you have made us out to be. We are not plotting on taking over Gotham City or destroying your system of currency. Why would we be? Why destroy society when you do not believe in the things society has to offer? Wouldn't you have to accept that society somehow controls you before you lash out at it? I do not think that society is even interested in me and when that is the case I simply find someone who is. Some people have this demand for recognition from their peers before they can even make a decision; this is considered healthy, but it is really no way to live your life. I stopped caring what others thought about me when I became a nihilist, but I actually find that this helps me empathize with other people more than I used to when I was a believer. It took me out of my head and made me see things from other people's perspectives a little bit better. Just because I stopped caring about what others think does not mean that do not care about other people. I care a lot, probably a little too much for most. I would not do this show, which, as I write this, is making me fuck all to pay my rent, if I did not care. I would not check in on other people if I did not care. I am not a careless person. I simply lack belief. What is wrong with that?