Happy St. Patrick’s Day, You Nihilists

Here’s Adam Kotsko with some
merry thoughts about St. Patrick’s Day:

St. Patrick’s Day expresses the
fundamental nihilism at the heart of American life. The sole
purpose of the holiday is drunkenness—indeed, it is a celebration
of drunkenness for its own sake. The completely phoned-in
requirement of green clothing makes even the abomination of adult
Halloween look like a rich and meaningful tradition. The reference
to Irish culture—consisting of excessive drinking and the color
green—is not so much a parody of Ireland as a parody of the
very idea of a cultural heritage as such.

You may now proceed to the
comment thread to debate whether Kotsko has identified a
bug or a feature. Alternately, you can read the rest of his
rant about the holiday here.
If it gets you depressed, don’t worry: Today it’s OK to start
drinking early.