When I take a break from my remarkably lazy schedule and tune into world events, I think I see all hell breaking loose. Israel is at war again, this upcoming summer may be the first the North Pole doesn’t have ice and Oprah’s weight is rising faster than those sea levels. Okay, I suppose that last one isn’t exactly a huge deal but the other two are actually pretty important. The war is another in a long list of recent conflicts worldwide and global warming is… well, we all know about global warming.
But do we pay attention? Maybe it’s just me, but it seems that no one really pays heavy attention to that looming disaster, and this new war is just that—there was one last week and there might be another new one tomorrow— what can we do about that?
I don’t pretend to have the answers to these sorts of questions, but watching television at 3 a.m. last night I was drawn into a program about a man some believe foresaw all these events and more. I am, of course, referring to Nostradamus, the French mystic who lived five centuries ago. As I sat watching the program in my state of sleep deprivation, I began to question myself: what if that old kook had it right after all?
I know, I know. That sounds pretty crazy right? Downright preposterous. I would normally agree with that assessment but then started thinking about all the dilemmas facing not only America, but the entire world and I have to admit, I’m kind of worried.
According to Nostradamus, all of these problems would come to a head on one particular day—a day that the world is supposed to end. The Mayans came to the same conclusion, and both Nostradamus and the ancient Mesoamericans picked the same day: Dec. 21, 2012.
Well, if that’s supposed to be the day the world ends, then I need to turn this life of mine around—waking up before noon would be a nice first step. Seriously though, whether or not the prophecies of Nostradamus are just fodder for late night shows and members of the occult, we need to start recycling more than just every once in a while because one day we may just wake up to find that we are really, irreparably, irrevocably screwed.
The alternative, I suppose, would be to sit back and let the government handle it, that’s been working pretty well so far, right?
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