The End of the World . . . Again
Each generation in the history of man has pondered the perversion of their culture and the erosion of their society. At one time or another the collective mindset of virtually every tribe, city, city-state or nation has settled upon the conclusion that life was on the verge of physical, emotional and intellectual extinction.
You can look back as far as you like; it matters not whether your wayback machine focuses on the days of the pharaohs, renegade Tsars, online tarot or hybrid cars. Eventually you’ll discover a point – again, in each generation - where our planet’s residents decided they had hit rock-bottom and there was no place to go but down.
You can easily research this on your own, for I’ve not the space to detail the infinite “end of the word” scenarios which man has concocted over the millennia. Suffice to say there is massive historical evidence which illustrates – in no uncertain terms – the odd propensity of humans to run in circles, scream and shout, and declare that the day of reckoning is nigh upon us.
And usually, the supplicants of impending Ragnarok place the blame for our upcoming obliteration squarely on the shoulders of…
Us.
No… I’m not talking about the ramblings of a few crazy folk who whiled away the hours guzzling homemade pomegranate wine while living in the bull-rushes behind King Tut’s tomb. I’m referring to a statistically significant number of individuals regarded as the leading thinkers of their times. The movers and the shakers. The Big Kahunas of industry and invention.
It was no different back-when (and pick any “when,” it doesn’t matter) than it is now.
I’ve wondered about this example of quasi-insanity quite a bit lately. These thoughts arose partly because I was amusing myself with a study of the doomsday prognostications that have gripped our world’s population from time immemorial. Mostly though, they were spurred on by the incessant yammering of politicians, celebrities and media spokes-critters over how the world will end within 10 years unless we all purchase high-dollar light bulbs that look like ice cream cones, trade in our cars for a lop-eared mule, and go make nice with every tree, bush, tick, blade of grass, water moccasin and patch of algae that we have offended with our callous disregard for environmental awareness.
Earth is dying, we are told. Our globe is sick, we are told. It’s all man’s fault, we are told. Yup…and I’m able to fly, read minds, turn lead to gold, and recite (backwards) the collected works of Homer, Shakespeare and Bazooka Joe.
I’m not green. Furthermore, I’m offended by the entire green movement. It strikes me that the leaders of the green movement care far more about the type of green that goes in their bank account than they do global warming, global cooling, climate change or whatever name it is that “scam” happens to be going under these days.
But, as Cheetah taught us: “Monkey see, monkey do.” Leaders need followers, and since followers have never been a commodity in short supply, there are plenty of people literally begging to jump on the green bandwagon. What’s more, the followers honestly and nervously believe the malarkey that the earth is about to croak.
I think I figured out why.
Again, I invite you to study history. Armageddon mania has generally arrived in conjunction with, or shortly after, a time of great change and technological innovation. Often, the craze takes a form in diametric opposition to whatever that innovation happens to be.
Not so coincidentally, the great vicissitude that has swept the planet in the past decade has been the internet, and internet-related products. The primary draw of these creations is that they allow the average Joe to live not in the real world, but to reside in countless, fanciful, virtual worlds. Why then, should it come as any surprise that those who live in a “perfect” virtual world tend to believe there is something wrong with the imperfect real world?
Why, the real world must be sick. And since we’ve ignored it, the disease is our fault.
Can you say, “backlash?”
No worries, gentle reader. The dire predictions of the little green minions are nothing but the latest response to technological alterations that occurred too rapidly for our fragile psyches to fully comprehend. It’s just the latest apocalypse in the series…no big deal …especially since this time it’s a virtual apocalypse.
Besides, if the earth were to die, where the heck would we bury it?