Prepare, for the End is nigh… or not.

It’s true; it’s just around the corner. Just over three years from now! But don’t take my word for it. Not one, but two completely unconnected ancient cultures say it’s so. Both the Mayan calendar and the Chinese Tao te Ching have tracked and predicted the events of our planet. And both mysteriously end at the same time, December 21st (the winter solstice) 2012. The Mayans believed this signified the end of the world.

Personally, I don’t buy it. When that day comes I don’t believe the Rapture will come, nor will we nuke ourselves into oblivion, nor will space aliens come down to conquer us, nor will the earth split in two. I believe that these two systems, both mathematical in nature, must be similar and suffer from the same numerical curiosity. Although I do wonder if anyone has tried to confirm this. But no, I don’t think the world in coming to an end, at least not at that precise time.

But it’s not about what I believe, what worries me are the countless masses that do believe. The reality is that the world is filled with ignorant, superstitious and fearful people. It is this portion of the populace that we all must prepare to defend our selves from. Undoubtedly, as the time draws closer, fear-mongers, religious leaders and the media will turn the spotlight on these historical facts for their own purposes.

Remember the Y2K scare? Now add to that an economic recession, terrorist activities, a significant portion of the population that already believes Armageddon is upon us and more than a dash of paranoia provided by those mentioned above and you can imagine how things can go south real quick. I’m not saying things will definitely fall into chaos. I certainly hope not. I hope that logic and reason will prevail. But given what human nature has shown of itself in the past, it’s better to be prepared.