2012...IT'S COMING & YOU CAN'T STOP IT!

By Daena Smoller

Once upon a time, when I was in second grade, our class was forced to watch a propaganda film about pollution. It depicted the year 2000 in which all humans would have to remain inside their climate-controlled homes because the atmosphere was so completely damaged that no one could leave their homes without gas masks.

As a slightly sensitive little girl, I pretty much freaked out.

But thank God for my wise, calm and intelligent father (a super cool and real physicist). He quietly explained to me all of the reasons why this was an over-blown propaganda film. I felt MUCH better. Today, it strikes me that that doom and gloom film was very similar in the arena of hype as those propaganda films from before my time, the ones explaining how to survive when the bomb is dropped…just hide under a table and put a wet newspaper over your head. Unfortunately, what was portrayed in that film was also incorrect with the truth of the matter not being all that sweet and simple.

The very late 1990s brought the whole Y2K technological scare…remember that? Fear mongers spread their message that computers around the globe would fail translating to the downfall of business, financial institutions, health care and the list goes on. Some companies made mind-boggling amounts of money on ‘Y2K upgrades’ that were never necessary in the first place and on January 1, 2000, everyone knew the panic over the previous 12 – 24 months was all for naught.

In 2004, a movie with kick-ass billboards played on our collective fear of world-wide disaster due to climate change. Remember THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW? And even though there were huge holes in the movie, I found the premise all too disturbing. But today, we face another threat that claims few to none of us will survive…that is, if we are to believe what is being said and written by those who are not sufficiently motivated to prove their claims with any hard evidence within their articles, books and interviews on the Internet.

The threat is approaching – 2012! December 2012 to be a little more precise which coincides with the end of the Mayan Calendar.

And now, to bring that threat to the masses is the new movie 2012. I must admit that I’ll have to go see it for the special effects (and the fact that I can see my former beach house in the cool movie poster), but like that pollution propaganda film from years ago and the feature film, THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW, I’ll most likely be sick to my stomach afterward.

I’ve been aware of the 2012 issue for quite some time, although not in great detail because I truly don’t like to go there! I find some difficulty in believing that a Mayan-produced calendar that ends in December 2012, produced by a race of people who disappeared from the face of the earth a long time ago, truly translates to the end of the world as we know it instead of just meaning that whoever was working on the calendar was interrupted and then, went missing.

Metaphysically, maybe it just signifies further change. But doesn’t our global life change all the time anyway?

Regardless, a major concern is spreading, stemming from the worries of 2012 and all manufactured items based on the doomsday theory…people may become so frightened that they engage in actions that they normally would not take. For example, and it’s just an example folks: If one believed that the world would end within a very specific time frame, why wouldn’t that person seek out ultimate revenge on those who have intentionally wronged him? Wouldn’t there be those who would steal from others so they may purchase what they believe they are missing, even if it’s only for a short period of time? Why wouldn’t everyone in the world just quit their jobs because really, if the world is to end, what’s the point? Of course such questions are bountiful, but you get the idea.

Well, I could tell you that there’s rumor going around that ABC may greenlight a series “2013” which would pick up where the movie 2012 leaves off. This may provide us with a little hope that some of us may survive 2012 and continue on in some fashion or another. But does this really cut the cake? I don’t think so.

What I suggest is to seek out valuable information, not just about the looming 2012, but information to make everyday a better one for you and your loved ones. And since you may not have access to my dad to help alleviate your fears, check out HealthyLife.net as it’s a great source of useful information disseminated by experts in mind, body, spirit and green matters - 24/7.

And finally, my advise to those who are in the middle of the road and just don’t know what to think - today, tomorrow and every day following, do your best for yourself and for others, if for no better reason than because like chicken soup, it couldn’t hurt!

So here’s to a wonderful upcoming 2010 and the countdown to the actual year 2012, which may pleasantly surprise us all!