The Problem with “The End is Near”

It’s always near. Seems so, anyway. Doomsday theories have been with us since language started. It seems that the first thing a proto-human said when he first learned to speak was "we’re all going to die."

Of course he was right.

But there’s something apparently hard-wired into our genes that makes some of us think that’s going to happen right now, or tomorrow at the very latest. Makes sense, I suppose -  Survival instinct and all. But in our modern world, where our very existence isn’t threatened every day, if not every hour, that code, so important for evolution, has gone rogue. It sends warning messages constantly, and sometimes it’s hard to ignore. It’s why some of use experience road rage and all of us at least once in our life, turns into an asshole while driving. But the longer-termed result of this is the doomsday obsession.

In the late 70s, a publication appeared, authored by Robert White, called simply The Duck Book. Mr. White, who made a lot of money resurfacing airport runways, was a conservative who saw our way of life ending, thanks to the Communist threat. He published an issue every couple months, and offered a lifetime subscription (his life, not yours) for about US$30. He admitted to having terminal cancer, and was interested in building up a nest-egg for his wife and young child. Nice come-on. Apparently, it worked. Subscription checks flowed in and White made a lot of money. The terminal cancer thing turned out to be…well…not true.

The Duck Book was compelling stuff, modern John Birch Society stuff, and was for the most part, a reflection of the American return to conservative thought at the beginning of the Reagan 80s. White was murdered in Belize after giving an investment seminar there. It’s suspected his anti-communist stance and comments got him killed.

I remember reading an article by one of his associates, about touring Europe "one last time" before the big showdown with the Soviet Union and how it was only a matter of a couple years, if not a few months when the tanks would roll. I get those exact same feelings reading a lot of the "end is coming, better hunker down" stuff on the web, whether it’s George Ure’s excellent Urban Survival, or the kooky Surfing the Apocalypse. But is it all real? Sure it is. The web bot project Ure talks a lot about has had a number of interesting "hits," and his financial and investment sense is very sharp.

But doomsday?

What these guys will tell you (which your editor agrees with, by the way) is that the best kind of preparation is that which is never needed. As a computer geek from way back (my first website went up in 1994), I understand the power and limitations of our computer systems, and I was concerned about Y2K. I stocked up on basics, and brought in a lot of bottled water. I couldn’t have been happier to "liquidate" (sorry) that stock a year or two after bringing it in, because the peace of mind it bought me was more important than the money and effort involved. That didn’t stop extended family (who, by the way would have survived because of that water, had it been needed) from scoffing that they knew it was unnecessary. Wow, really? They KNEW it wouldn’t be needed? No experience whatsovever with data processing, as opposed to my 19 years of it (at that point)? They KNEW nothing would happen?

That’s why I’m not so quick to scoff. Take it all in, process it and prepare for what you can, in my mind is always a good choice.

So what’s the problem? Well, I’m all for warnings. Hell, that’s partly what this blog’s all about. It just bears thinking about balance when you’re looking for views of the future. Always focusing on the dark dangers can keep you from seeing the hope and optimistic attitudes that many have. We’re drawn these days to the distopian, rather than utopian outlook. The original Star Trek (and The Next Generation for that matter) were far more hopeful and light-filled than Battlestar Galactica, not that BSG isn’t a fantastic bit of sci-fi which I dearly love.

As with all in life, it’s about balance.

- A. MacLeod

Posted in Economy, Peak Oil, Society, Terrorism, War