Getting ready for the end?
A record amount of individuals and families are buying survival kits and documentaries, ingesting as much information about predictions of the end of the world as they possibly can. To date, over 200 books presenting the "real" 2012 story can be bought at your favorite bookstore. In all probability, if everyone in the world were to surf the internet from now until Armageddon—tentatively predicted to be December 21, 2012— they would only see just a fraction of the Web sites and products devoted to the topic.
Amid all the publicity—including a viral marketing campaign for 2012,- for the disaster movie which opened last Friday—there are unknown amounts of people worldwide that are developing honest "end of times" anxiety that has experts seriously concerned.
NASA's "Ask an Astrobiologist" web site, has received thousands of questions regarding the 2012 doomsday predictions—some of them disturbing, according to David Morrison, a senior scientist with the NASA Astrobiology Institute.
"A lot of people who are submitting these questions are people who are genuinely frightened," said Morrison, who thinks movie marketers, authors, and others out to make a buck are feeding some of the fears.
"I've had two teenagers who were considering killing themselves, because they didn't want to be around when the world ends," he said. "Two women in the last two weeks said they were contemplating killing their children and themselves so they wouldn't have to suffer through the end of the world."
An additional “doomsday” link: "2012 Prophecies Sparking Real Fears, Suicide Warnings."
2012 Movie; its Just Entertainment
Part of the worry, Morrison says, is being fanned by a suite of Web sites created by 2012 distributor Sony Pictures Entertainment.
The sites appear to represent scientific organizations, press releases, and 2012 whistle-blowers all intent on telling the "truth" about our upcoming doom.
In lieu of the public’s reaction to the thousands of web sites proclaiming that the “end is near”, currently, all of the 2012 movie marketing sites, display clear disclaimers that the contents are "Part of the 2012 Movie Experience”, nothing more.
But those labels weren't there from day one, adding to the suggestion that the doomsday scenarios might have some truth behind them, Morrison said.
Sony Pictures spokesperson Steve Elzer argues that it's clear the film's marketing materials are tied to the promotion of the movie.
"When moviegoers see trailers or visit Web sites linked to our film," he said, "they know this is an entertainment experience, just as those who see materials created for Transformers understand robot aliens have not really landed or those who attend Twilight: New Moon know vampires are not actually among us."
2012: The end of the world?
Generally, the world’ fear and obsession over the 2012 doomsday prediction is just another example of a scenario that has been repeated over the centuries, said University of Wisconsin historian Paul Boyer.
Baptist preacher William Miller, for example, convinced as many as a hundred thousand Americans in the early 1800s that the second coming of Jesus Christ would happen in 1843. It didn't, much to the Millerites' "great disappointment."
And Hal Lindsey's 1970s national bestseller The Late, Great Planet Earth suggested that the end could come in the 1980s. We're still here and so is Lindsey, who has since revised his theories.
Distrust for authority fuels speculation
Worldwide conspiracy theorists often believe that world government know all about some impending disaster but are doing nothing to save the rest of us.
Now, thanks to the Internet, such theories can quickly gain traction and spread more widely than ever before.
Maya 2012: Truth Better Than Fiction
Anthony Aveni, a Maya expert and archaeoastronomer at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York, has also seen the effects of 2012 hysteria firsthand.
"I got into an email dialogue with a high school student who was quite seriously concerned that the world was going to end," he said. "This person thought we were all going to die. That motivated me to write about it."
His book, The End of Time: The Maya Mystery of 2012, is one of several attempts by experts to dispel the myths of the Maya apocalypse and instead focus attention on the facts about the ancient culture.
As always Louisianans, the Examiner.Com is interested in what you think. Has the hype over the movie 2012 caused an unnatural interest in the “end of times”? Or, does the majority of the world’s religions already prophesize the end of the world as we know it? Inquiring minds want to know. Sound off.
Until next time Louisianans, Good Day, God Bless and Good Fishing.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2007-03-27-maya-2012_n.htm
http://http://anomalyinfo.com/articles/ga00009.shtml
Comments
This is similar to the Y2K scare. Just more alarmist propaganda. Trust me, we'll be fine and standing after 2012.
They must mean that if Palin runs in 2012 that's signal of the end.
The world has been ending since it began. The world will truly end if it is Beck/Palin in 2012 or Dick Cheney or any rethug. The world will surly end. they are all changeling's.
Being a Christian, I believe what the Bible says - We "Earthlings" know not the day nor the hour when Christ shall come again. The most common sense attitude to have is just be prepared and the rest will take care of itself.
End of the world or not, it is a good idea to prepare for the things you can do something about. Earthquakes, fires, floods, industrial chemical spills are here now. It is a fact that a disaster will touch each persons life sometime. If the world ends in 2012, all of the preparation in the world will be for not. Anyway, I chose to prepare for real disasters that unfortunately, happen all to many times here in Southern California. We are, after all, a heart beat away from "the big one". Long story short I have put a lot of time going from website to website and store to store but in all honesty the only place that seems to get it is www.survivalkitsonline.com and I can't recommend them enough. They have been my disaster preparation one stop shop. I have purchased kits for my two cars, one for the house and one for the office. I am not an alarmist but a realist. And I like others try to pass on a good thing when I find it so don't think I am one who thinks the sky is falling.
the end IS near???? well apparently the mayan's were way off. there civilization ended a long time ago & they couldn't predict that!!
No one knows when Jesus will will return.We all just have to prepared as far as our souls being right in God.
Poppycock!
You know all that stuff you purchased and hoarded? When it hits the fan you won't be any where near it nor will you want to be burdend with it for dust it will become. All you will want or need you have hopefully already hidden in your heart.
When that day comes ( and it will someday) all of this won't matter. What matters is whether or not you have lived by faith. If you have, then you have nothing to worry about. The end days and the fear of it coming are for those who did not heed the WORD. Bless those who did not. You will need it.
I don't know when the end will be but I know it's not when "they" say it will be. "They" say a lot but know nothing when it comes to this. Their time would be better spent trying to learn as much as possible about Jesus Christ and His teachings. We should also tell others about what the Bible says and encourage them to read so they will be prepares for Jesus return to this earth.
Trust in God's Holy words - not what "THEY" say. Read/study the Bible - put what you learn into practice - be prepared whenever Jesus returns. BUT it will not be when "THEY" say the end is coming.
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