The Rise of Right-Wing Nihilism

The New York Times ^ | Aug. 21, 2025 | David Brooks

[E. Pluribus Unum]

This progressive/conservative disconnect — which is also, frequently, an elite/non-elite disconnect — is a problem across the West. For reasons I don’t fully understand, educated elites are more socially progressive than non-elites.

What the [Expletive Deleted] is Mr. Pant Crease Fetishist talking about?

[Ronaldus Magnus III]

I noticed David Broo..... I stopped reading there.

[Texas Eagle]

In 2018, I happened to watch the Super Bowl at a sports bar in West Virginia.

Sure you did, David Brooks. Surrrrrre you did.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

I find him entertaining in a frontal lobotomized sort of way.

[Salman]

Oh yes, the "Christian Nationalist" strawman + a whole lot of projection.

It's propaganda to their own side to help them to cope. They are not even trying to win anyone over.

[Salvavida]

The is the rise of Belt to @$$ movement. David doesn’t know it gets much worse after the Mid-Terms.

[dowcaet]

The only reason we have a so called political divide today is because conservatives are no longer silent and they’re not buckling to the usual lefty bullying in the media. When conservatives speak out this is considered divisiveness by Democrats and their token media Repukes like David Brooks. Oh, how they long for the “good old” days when libs totally dominated the media narrative and wimpy, establishment Repukes like Brooks, Paul Gigot and George Will spoke on our behalf!

[Yardstick]

I guess when you’re the token conservative you have to play along with leftspeak like “Christian nationalist”.

[frank ballenger]

Hillary called us Deplorables. Biden called us garbage.
Then we were existential threats to democracy.
Followed by fans of oligarchs.

Nihilist sounds sort of exotic and classy, in a way.

Definition:
A nihilist is someone who believes that life is inherently meaningless and that traditional values, beliefs, and institutions are baseless. They often reject concepts like truth, morality, and purpose, viewing them as unfounded or nonexistent. Nihilism can manifest in various forms, including metaphysical, moral, and existential nihilism, each with its own specific focus on meaninglessness.

[x]

If you are a subscriber, you might be able to give us access to this. I don’t know for sure, but I think subscribers can do that. Otherwise, we’re going to be talking about “Christian nationalism” which isn’t what the point of the article is.

[Lurker]

“For reasons I don’t fully understand…”

That’s because you’re an arrogant, elitist asshole. And so are your friends.

L

[ROCKLOBSTER]

What would you do in such circumstances? Well, at least at first, you’d probably grit your teeth and take it while silently seething.

No, they'd soil themselves and run screaming into the night.

[xp38]

We get inundated with the left viewpoint even here on FR but here we also push back big time and get lots wisdom from each other. The progressive left is wrong close to 100% of the time. Sometimes it’s horrifying and sometimes amusing how wrong they are. Very often I’m reminded how grateful one should be we are not them. If one comes across a leftist in the wild one should be polite and begin to distance and avoid them. As has been said countless times they are mentally ill.

[NFHale]

“… Imagine you woke up one morning and all your media sources were produced by Christian nationalists…”

Chuckle… you’d see mass suicides amongst them.

Not that theres anything wrong with that…

[Eli Kopter]

Drop dead Brooks. How’s that for nihilism?

[Rural_Michigan]

No Donny these men are nihilists.

[philman_36]

The next year I helped organize a conference of people building local communities. We made sure that at least 30 percent of the participants were from red states. But during our discussions, the progressives in the room seemed to assume that everybody there thought like them. They dominated the conversation and left almost no space for other opinions. I watched the red-state folks just hunch over. For three days they barely spoke. He's acting like he doesn't know what the Delphi Technique is? What a crock of Brock.

[gundog]

[RKV]

You said it L.

[BrexitBen]

David Brooks is the New York Slimes version of a “ Republican “.