Jerod S. V2.0
2004-Jun-23, 06:10 AM
...has really started to grate on my nerves.
Have we not this year alone had no less than three or four major announcements from...certain sectors (isn't self-censorship grand?
:lol: ) that on such-and-such a date at such-and-such a time we're expecting <fill in the blank with the cosmological catastrophe that will eliminate our beautiful little world of your choosing>?
Why? Several reasons.
First, I despise fear-mongering. There is enough to be concerned about in the real world politically, socially, economically, spiritually, etc. that the need for certain sectors to make unsubstantiated and/or nonsensical claims of such a nature is nil in my book. It's a distraction from matters of all kinds that are -practically speaking- of greater immediate concern.
Secondly, how many times can such claims not materialize *before* you desensitize enough of a given population (particularly those in positions of power in the governing body in the neighborhood nearest you) that *all* such claims are without merit and should be disregarded as hornswaggle? I think that has the potential of setting a somewhat dangerous precedent. I'm *not* saying *I* know that something is coming and we have X number of years to do something and we'd better start now, etc. I'm saying that eventually (meaning tomorrow...or 1,000 year-plus from now), such a discovery is possible -and is always statistically creeping further in the direction of probable- and when such a time comes, if everybody has already decided such an event could not occur and has failed to materialize in the past when it was predicated or otherwise announced...does this make sense?
Even if the disclosure came through "reputable" (not the time or place to get into the reasons for the quotation marks...) news sources or official agencies, how many would take it seriously in light of the previously mentioned hoaxes of days, weeks, months and years past? There's enough cynicism about the mainstream elements of the press or political instituions that such an announcement from them may not carry as much weight as it should if said scenario were to play out.
Sorry. I'm ranting about a scenrio that (fortunately, thank God) isn't knocking on the door. But it troubles me that so much effort has to be put forward to debunk the claims of the extremely paranoid among us. I'm all for a little paranoia...it's actually healthy. But when you run around screaming that the sky is falling but it can't be seen because it's invisible and coming it at a weird angle, etc., it's obvious that the healthy paranoia has given way to something damaging. And some things are not meant to be shared.
Cheers,
Jerod V2.0
Have we not this year alone had no less than three or four major announcements from...certain sectors (isn't self-censorship grand?
:lol: ) that on such-and-such a date at such-and-such a time we're expecting <fill in the blank with the cosmological catastrophe that will eliminate our beautiful little world of your choosing>?
Why? Several reasons.
First, I despise fear-mongering. There is enough to be concerned about in the real world politically, socially, economically, spiritually, etc. that the need for certain sectors to make unsubstantiated and/or nonsensical claims of such a nature is nil in my book. It's a distraction from matters of all kinds that are -practically speaking- of greater immediate concern.
Secondly, how many times can such claims not materialize *before* you desensitize enough of a given population (particularly those in positions of power in the governing body in the neighborhood nearest you) that *all* such claims are without merit and should be disregarded as hornswaggle? I think that has the potential of setting a somewhat dangerous precedent. I'm *not* saying *I* know that something is coming and we have X number of years to do something and we'd better start now, etc. I'm saying that eventually (meaning tomorrow...or 1,000 year-plus from now), such a discovery is possible -and is always statistically creeping further in the direction of probable- and when such a time comes, if everybody has already decided such an event could not occur and has failed to materialize in the past when it was predicated or otherwise announced...does this make sense?
Even if the disclosure came through "reputable" (not the time or place to get into the reasons for the quotation marks...) news sources or official agencies, how many would take it seriously in light of the previously mentioned hoaxes of days, weeks, months and years past? There's enough cynicism about the mainstream elements of the press or political instituions that such an announcement from them may not carry as much weight as it should if said scenario were to play out.
Sorry. I'm ranting about a scenrio that (fortunately, thank God) isn't knocking on the door. But it troubles me that so much effort has to be put forward to debunk the claims of the extremely paranoid among us. I'm all for a little paranoia...it's actually healthy. But when you run around screaming that the sky is falling but it can't be seen because it's invisible and coming it at a weird angle, etc., it's obvious that the healthy paranoia has given way to something damaging. And some things are not meant to be shared.
Cheers,
Jerod V2.0