Reflecting on the words of the great John Lewis, which were printed after his death, I am struck by the importance, especially in 2020, to heed his directive that voting and participating in the democratic process is a key.

His admonition is not a foreign concept to me. My father taught my sister and me that, as citizens, it was our duty to share in the democratic process, which included paying close attention to current affairs. I remember at age 12 taking some of my hard-earned money washing cars to buy a five-year subscription to Time magazine, which I dutifully read each week. In the Martorano household, the nightly news and, of course presidential press conferences and addresses, were mandatory viewing and were witnessed without complaint or distraction.

We listened attentively to the words of presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson as history was made right before our eyes. Later, when I was on my own, my interest in public affairs only intensified. Looking back over the hundreds of speeches and addresses that I have taken in over my lifetime, I must confess to having been inspired countless times by soaring rhetoric, which as a general rule, called on us to reach higher, try harder and never give up our efforts to achieve and maintain the true promise of America.

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My dad was a diehard Republican. Yet, as partisan as he was, he still believed that all of us (Democrats and Republicans) were members of the same choir; we just had different verses. He believed to his dying breath that, when all was said and done, we all shared the same values; we just prioritized them differently. He taught my sister and me that no matter your political stripe, you had a duty to join your fellow citizens in working to improve the lives of all people within the framework of our democratic process.

Yet, over the last two decades, there has been a societal erosion of my fathers belief that we are all members of the same choir. We have been witness to the unmistakable introduction of a nihilistic thread into our countrys consciousness and political system.

Historically, nihilism, as an epistemological term, references a small branch of philosophy that asserts that nothing is knowable or worth knowing. However, the nihilism I refer to today is that which can be assigned more appropriately to the world of ethics. Nihilism, in this sense, maintains that all moral judgments are irrational, relative, and finally meaningless. Once accepted either intellectually or merely in practice, it frees its proponent from the shackles of duty, truth, or even morality in general.

When I speak of todays nihilism, I am not referring to the mistrust of government that is a perennial feature of democracy. As a Yorktown councilperson, I remember recoiling in horror whenever I overheard someone comment with conviction that all politicians are corrupt. Although I found such beliefs insulting, I always understood that the questioning of a skeptical public was a healthy tool in keeping government on its toes. Nor am I referencing the mantra of first-time candidates (which I had to endure on several occasions) that it was time for a change. That expression inferred, ever so gently, that if you are in office a long time, either staleness or corruption is inevitable. These types of cynicism, far from being malevolent, have often proved effective in holding elected officials accountable.

The nihilism I am referring to, so widespread today, is much more sinister and exponentially more dangerous to a democracy than the normal skepticism voiced by an electorate often hungry for new voices. The underpinnings of the modern-day version are simple: there is no morality, good and evil, right or wrongonly power. This view rejects an objective reality, science, accountability, ethical standards, morality, honor or equity. Its goal is no less than the annihilation of our faith in our democratic institutions themselves. Historically speaking, this type of dark sentiment has always thrived best during times of marked societal apprehension.

Ivan Turgenevs novel in 1862, Fathers and Sons, popularized nihilism as a repudiation of an utterly corrupt political and legal system. Unlike todays version, it concurrently offered a vision of a better world. But most of us associate nihilism with the prominent German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche. Although I doubt he ever envisioned the present misuse of his ideas, Nietzsche wrote about a Superman (Zarathustra) who, liberated from the constraints of culture, religion, and ethics, was free to assert himself in the world. Nietzsche was reacting to what he considered the religious and cultural straightjackets of his time, which he believed stifled the creative process. Even though he never intended it, his conception of an existential Superman was, after his death, perversely misused by tyrants to justify their advancement of authoritarian political systems.

Nihilism in 2020 flourishes in a jittery world full of conspiracy theories, a pandemic crisis, economic dispossession, and virulent racism. Its twin emotional engines of fear and hatred are easily manipulated by bad actors that have the perverse skill to use it to their advantage. Todays conspiracy theories are actually devoid of theory. Their methodology is the repetition of bold-faced lies (without a shred of evidence) designed to feed this new destructive impulse, which undermines faith in our democratic institutions. Once the nihilists goal has been achieved, the converted have lost all belief in, or need for, science (or rationality for that matter), the truth, social justice, the law, or any ethical conceptions of morality or equity.

Removed from the constraints of morality, tradition, ethics, much like Nietzsches Superman, all that matters for todays nihilist is a brute existential assertion of will, which certifies their identity and maintains their power. Concurrently, they exhibit a Holden Caulfield-like need to transgress. For them, humanity is viewed by means of a supremely myopic and self-absorbed lens through which streams a constant flow of self-serving misinformation, further reinforcing their false perspective on reality. All information that runs contrary to their interest is deemed fake and its source treated as an enemy. This type of nihilism had never, until recently, invaded our mainstream politics. But its here now for all to see, revealing itself in behavior that is alternatively outrageous, provocative, or transgressive. When effective, the result is a blurring of the lines between the offensive and the genuine.

We have to decide this year whether we agree that we are all in the same choir, as my dad insisted, or has the world really shifted that much? Will we perceive our election as a joining of our voices, once again, in one majestic expression of democracy or are we engaged in a fight to the finish?

What can we do? If we truly believe in the democratic process, we must require evidence for assertions made by all those who seek our vote. Claims by themselves should not be accepted as true, even if they cater to our prior beliefs. As good citizens, we must reject the lure of nihilism and its proponents while holding fast in protecting and promoting our values by participating robustly in the democratic process. We must demand a positive vision of the future from all the candidates, even those who share our own party affiliation. It is time to be inspired again, to reach higher, try harder and never give up in our efforts to achieve and maintain the true promise of America.

Perhaps John Lewis put in best when, in his final words, he wrote, So I say to you, walk with the wind, brothers and sisters, and let the spirit of peace and the power of everlasting love be your guide.

The choice is ours, my friends.

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