I am reading a new book, the Self-Overcoming of NIHILISM by Nishiani Keiji, translated by Graham Parkes with Setsuko Aihara.

[Nihilism], an existential problem
in which the being of the self is revealed
to the self itself
as something
groundless…

The phenomenon of nihilism shows
that our historical life has lost its ground
as objective spirit,
that the value system which supports this life
has broken down,
and that the entirety of social and historical life
has loosened itself from its foundations.
Nihilism is a sign of the collapse of social order externally
and of the spiritual decay internally

–and as such signifies a time of great upheaval

The Self-Overcoming of NIHILISM by Nishitani Keiji, trans. by Graham Parkes and Setsuko Aihara, page 3

In this room a dozen or so individuals are present. Almost everyone is “educated” as far as the term goes in America. If a majority of my neighbors, strangers have read or heard of “nihilism” perhaps they’d have a vague notion of what is meant, and nothing more. One need not have read Nietzsche, Sartre, Camus, or a Dostoevsky novel to be aware of the collapse of the old order, and the fevered stampede to power by the reality show host, failed casino impresario, even convicted felon, Trump. This represents a breaking, a sea-change that cannot be denied. 

Slightly more than one half of those casting a vote on November 4, 2024 preferred him, giving “thumbs up” to what he represents, promises to achieve on their behalf.

A sampling of headlines that I read today from The Morning, a daily email newsletter received from the New York Times. 

• The board members of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, all Trump appointees, elected Trump as its chairman and fired its longtime president.
• The State Department plans to spend $400 million on armored vehicles from Tesla, which Musk owns.
• The Associated Press accused the White House of violating the First Amendment for barring reporters from three press events in recent days. The news organization has refused to use the term Gulf of America.
• The Trump administration sent dozens of Venezuelan migrants to a base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, that previously held Al Qaeda suspects.
• House Republicans released their initial budget plan. It includes deep cuts to Medicaid and trillions in tax cuts.
• Google says it stopped displaying cultural events like Black History Month on its calendar app because maintaining them manually wasn’t sustainable.
• U.S. inflation rose in January to 3 percent, higher than expected.
• Elon Musk took his son to the Oval Office, so Jimmy Fallon walked onstage with a child, too.

This is only beginning, the darkening horizon, sign of a super-storm’s approach.