We’re still here
12/27/2012News flash: The world did not end last week, as some interpreters of the ancient Mayan calendar predicted.
The Earth’s magnetic field hasn’t flipped. Our planet is not rotating counter-clockwise. Tsunamis aren’t drowning coastal cities. Lava isn’t flowing from dormant volcanoes. The sun hasn’t expanded. No rogue planet fills the horizon.
In fairness to the Mayans, it isn’t their fault that superstitious people in our scientifically advanced era hijacked their benign calendar for purposes of fear mongering and profiteering.
What is it about modern life that lends itself to periodic apocalyptic death wishes? Predictions about the Rapture by doomsday preachers are routinely exposed as lies, but not before many true believers run through their life’s savings preparing for The End.
One of the most popular shows on cable TV highlights doomsday “preppers” getting ready for the world’s imminent collapse. What does it say about us that we reward programs that predict our destruction with high ratings?
At least we’ve put the Mayan apocalypse behind us. Now, if only we could shake the dire predictions of Nostradamus.