By Joe Olvera ©, 2011
Did you draw up your “bucket list” yet? If you haven’t, you’d better hurry it up, because the Mayans have said that the Earth will meet its end-date on December 21, 2012. Hey, that’s only twelve months or so from today. A bucket list, of course, is an item that lays down all the things you’d like to accomplish before your demise. And, if the Mayan Calendar is correct, then, my friends, you don’t have that much time. What is not understood, however, is that if the Mayans were considered to be ignorant and primitive savages – why is so much credibility being given to their prediction? Of course everyone knows they weren’t ignorant, the Mayans created the Concept of Zero – without which man wouldn’t have landed on the moon. But, there you have it.
But, are the Mayans correct in their prediction of the coming “Doomsday?” This reminds us of the 1950s and the fear of nuclear annihilation when, it was believed, the United States was doomed to destruction because of the “Cold War,” and the Soviet’s accumulation of nuclear weapons. Americans grew very fearful of a Nuclear fallout. So what did the government recommend? That the people build fallout shelters made of concrete and steel that would withstand a nuclear holocaust. Americans were only too familiar with the destruction caused by the Atom Bombs dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that ended World War II with the Japanese. In that tragedy at least two hundred thousand Japanese met their maker.
Under this present-day doomsday, however, the stakes and the threats are different. The destruction of the world is nigh simply because the Mayans said so, or, at least, they said as much in their much-misunderstood Calendar. According to some astronomers, who happen to believe the end-days are coming, the destruction of the Earth will be through a Planet X flyby, a killer solar flare, or a reversal of the Earth’s orbit. Any of these catastrophes, of course, would insure a very bad hair day for millions of Earth’s inhabitants. But, never fear, because one Astronomer at the UC Santa Barbara has moved the fortuitous day 60 days forward, to on or about Feb. 21, 2012, So, whew, what a relief. We get an extra 60 days to make our peace with our fellow man.
The ridiculous notion that a group of MesoAmericans, namely, the Mayans, Aztecs, and other native tribes in Mexico and other parts south could be able to predict the end of the world, despite their primitive means, boggles the mind. For one thing, the Calendar – Mayan, Aztec, or otherwise – does not predict the end of the world, but, merely, the end of one cycle and the beginning of a new era. The Aztecs, for example, grew afraid every 52 years – what they called a “sheaf” of years, as opposed to our “century.” At the end of every 52nd year, the fear was that the Sun would not reappear, and the dark days would last forever. On that fateful day, everybody, from the Uey Tlatoani (Revered Speaker) to the most common person would lay in fear because the belief was that the sun would not reappear. Every single flare, fire, or candle was doused so that the cities became enfolded in darkness. The people wailed, wept, and prayed for the sun to rise once again. They would pray to the Sun God, Tonatiuh, to not allow them to be engulfed in darkness. When the first rays of Tonatiuh were spotted, the lamenting stopped, and celebrations began. Thus, they were insured of surviving for another 52 years.
To somewhat explain the new phenomenon, some archeologists believe that the Mayan Calendar is based on a Calendar known as a “long count.” This Calendar would accomplish what the shorter – 52 year Calendar could not. The long-count Calendar would run out after 5,126 years. If, as it is believed, the Mayans began their Calendar in the Year 3114 BC, and if the long-count is calculated to continue for 5,126 years, the end date of the long-count would be – you guessed it, 2012 AD. Confused? So are we, but, here are some reasons why the world will not end on Dec. 21, 2012. According to expert Ray Villard;
*Changes in the sun’s magnetic field will lead to powerful flares that could obliterate the earth – says Villard – “the phenomenon occurs every 11 years, and we’re still here;”
*.The Earth’s magnetic field will reverse – unless it’s hit by a Mars-sized planet, the moon will hold our gravitational influence;
* An asteroid will smash into Earth – says Villard: “how could the Mayans have known 1,200 years ago, what modern astronomers don’t know today? The most dangerous such mass is called Apophis. However, the chances that this asteroid will hit Earth are 1 in 250,000.”
There are other scenarios explained by Villard, albeit, too complicated and confusing for ordinary lay people to comprehend. But, there’s no stopping the doomsayers who are convinced that the Earth will meet its demise on Dec. 21, 2012. If they so believe, they will try to convince all of Earth’s inhabitants that we are nearing the end-days. But, to predict the world’s end? Perish the thought!
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