The End of Days

A few folks I know are seriously freaking out.

They're sending me messages, emails, or are posting on their Facebook statuses that they think it's the end of the world. As in we're about to experience Armageddon. And if that's not enough, there are a few "Obama's the antichrist" emails circulating these days as well. Gosh, not only is Obama black but he's gotta be the Antichrist too! Dang, can a brother catch a break?

I mean, I thought we already had a president who was the Antichrist. As far as I knew, the Antichrist already came over 20 years ago. His name was Ronald Wilson Reagan.

Remember that? Reagan was supposedly the Antichrist because each of his names (first, middle, last) has six letters and there was supposedly a 666 on his head. I remember being in 5th or 6th grade listening to kids on the playground whispering that the numbers were hidden underneath Reagan's hair but some hairdresser had found it. And then that hairdresser disappeared under mysterious circumstances, of course.

Granted, all these rumors came out after we'd all seen (and been terrified by) those Omen movies featuring the Antichrist, Damien Thorn. I'm convinced that "The Omen" probably kept a whole generation of folks from naming their baby boys "Damien".

Anyway, yesterday when it rained for all of five minutes, I momentarily wondered if these end of days believers are right. I mean, rain in LA in September? But it's back to being sunny and oven-like today so I need to cut the superstition.

Yes, the jittery economy does make me feel a little like I need to turn into my grandma. She lived through the Depression and stockpiled canned goods like crazy. We'd be like, "Grandma, do you really need 25 cans of green beans?" She just couldn't help it. But otherwise, I don't feel like I need to walk around all freaked out and terrified. It does me no good and it does my children no good. I say my prayers every day, ask God to protect me, and I try to live my life right and do things that leave a positive mark on the world.

Does it do me any good to sit around and freak out over the rumors that the CIA has said Los Angeles is gonna be hit by a terrorist attack before election day? I don't think so. I hope that doesn't happen, but if so, I believe in an afterlife. And in the meantime, I gotta keep it movin'.

Not that I don't appreciate that people care enough about me to send me messages recommending that I try to convert as much cash as possible into gold because the markets are going to completely crash and the United States is going to be under martial law by the middle of October... and then the Rapture's gonna happen, but, um, actually, if the world as we know it ends, I'm sort of okay with that.

Here's what I mean: I'd like to have a world without racism, without sexism, without the extremes of wealth and poverty, without the fighting that goes on in the name of religion. I'd like to have a world where where I don't pay more every single year for healthcare but still get huge bills for what insurance doesn't cover. I'd like to have a world where I don't see people eating out of the garbage and sleeping on abandoned couches on the street. Wouldn't it be nice if all of those aspects of our world, the world as we know it, wouldn't it be nice if all that ended?

No, I don't want a bunch of people to die. No, I don't want there to be some sort of apocalyptic event that goes down akin to September 11th. But the reality is that thousands of children worldwide die every single day from starvation. Thousands of people get shot and killed in gun violence. Thousands of women are raped or beaten every single day. The world we live in isn't a pretty place. And we don't need an Antichrist to make it worse.

Comments

thailandchani said…
Amen! I do think it's time for Americans to get some perspective. The freaking out just amazes me. How many actually pay any attention to what's going on in the rest of the world - where most people don't even have clean drinking water.

I'm having a really hard time with all the whining going on.


~*
1969 said…
If Bush is not the AntiChrist, it certainly isn't Obama. LOL
Liz Dwyer said…
Chani,
Folks are too panicked to get perspective. All of what's going on gets hyped and blown up and it takes a psychological toll on people. Not that it isn't serious stuff, because it is. But we're not helpless. We still have control over our ultimate destinies.

1969,
LOL! Something I was reading was saying that every president but Jimmy Carter has been thought to be the Antichrist!
Anonymous said…
Agreed, panicking doesn't help any. The economic situation looks pretty scary but in the end all we can do is look after our own little patch and keep our own lives going. What worries me is that with all that taxpayers' money going into the banking bailout, what's going to be left to improve public services and help the needy?
Anonymous said…
You know the funny thing is how everyone is freaking out but to me things are still the same - six months ago I was struggling to pay my bills and today I'm still struggling to pay my bills!!!!
Shiona said…
Yes the whining is pretty bad. Of course things aren't great but I think they could be much worse. People should look at all the good things they have too.
Anonymous said…
There was actually a Maltese-Australian guy at my school in China, whose name was Damien...
Anonymous said…
If the world is about to end, why would you need gold?

Bush would have been my vote for the anti-Christ, but I'm thinking the McCain/Paliin duo could give him a run for the money.
Liz Dwyer said…
Nick,
I tend to think that there being no money left for public services is the goal. Folks are trying to get all they can while they can. Only four more months (hopefully) to do so.

Cyndee,
Yup, a whole lot is still the same. But I think folks are worried that those who are struggling like us are gonna be out on the street if things get much worse.

Shiona,
Things could be a lot worse. And I sure hope that everyone who's whining gets off their badonkadonk and goes to vote.

Sharifa,
Ooh, Maltese-Australian... sounds hot! Was he evil acting?

Citizen,
LOL! Exactly! I guess so you can buy some Starbucks before you take your last breath?

Interesting how there don't seem to be emails going around saying that McCain is the Antichrist and Palin is the Whore of Babylon. I mean, if folks want to go down that End of Days road, wouldn't that be a sort of logical conclusion?
Jen said…
Sad, but all too true.
Ian Lidster said…
I'm absolutely on the same page as Chani and you.
Meanwhile,as the old hippies said: "Keep on truckin'"
Look there's paranoia and there's preparedness. Anything is possible. We need to stay vigilant. We are being scammed by the gov't big time and the media is helping to either dumb us down or rev us up in the wrong direction. For those of us with jobs and trying to get by the time is now to learn to grow something and find a community garden and pare down. Those of us without jobs need help. The people who are without safety nets and living on the streets are being completely ignored and yet it's considered 'normal'. We cannot fall for more fear tactics. The Patriot Act and FISA passages are just making it easy for a takeover if people don't see the big picture.
Anonymous said…
Reagan was also the name of the kid in the Exorcist.

P.S. Alaska Barbie is the real devil.
Jameil said…
the end of the world and forward this and that and the other texts and emails kill me!! we won't be saved by a fw or a text. sad but true... lol.
Anonymous said…
((hug)) You RULE!
April said…
Don't forget, he's also a Muslim...who hangs around w/ terrorists and reverends. Go figure.

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