The Year 2012

Since Y2K proved to be a bust, the paranoid masses have searched for a new doomsday scenario to worry about. They found it in ‘The 2012 Phenomenon’, the belief that the world will end in 2012. So why are so many people concerned about their imminent demise? Well, it all goes back to the ancient Mayan civilization. The Meso-American Long Count Calendar was an ancient calendar first created by the Olmec civilization, used mostly by the Mayans, that told time in units such as uinals (20 days), tuns (360 days), and baktuns (144,000 days). So, basically it’s just a calendar, right? Apparently not. What is concerning to the masses is that the calendar ends after the 13th baktun. This roughly translates to the date December 21, 2012. The Mayan calendar has had success in the past predicting certain events such as eclipses, which has led to the belief that the calendar can predict any event (in this case, the end of the world). Most people aren’t even aware of what this calendar is, but instead are buying into the hype of media frenzy or movies like 2012. In fact, there is nothing to worry about. Mayan Indian Elder Apolinario Chile Pixtun announced that there was no truth to the rumors of a 2012 doomsday in an interview with Newsday.com, saying “I came back from England last year and, man, they had me fed up with this stuff.” Even though officials, scientists, and Mayan spokesmen are refuting the belief that the world is going to end in 2012, people are still worried. There has been a movie to capitalize on the hype, and websites pop up everywhere with information on the “disaster”, like survive2012.com or the 2012 wiki (though the latter is mostly filled with articles placing a humorous twist on the worries over the date). Doomsday is not a new idea by any means, and it is ridiculous that so many people are falling to pieces over a mostly unfounded rumor. And everyone dies eventually- whether from disease, natural causes, an accident, or even a doomsday scenario. The reason there is so much fear is that the exact date of “The End” is known. Most people don’t want to know exactly when they will die, and anyone who believes the hype around 2012 is forced to deal with just that. Whether the world really will end does not matter. What is important is that everyone spends what time they have appreciating life and having fun with the people they love. In the end, the 2012 phenomenon is an irrational fear, but perhaps it can help bring everyone closer together. Only time will tell.

VIDEO CLIP FROM UPC LAST YEAR.