End of the world?

If you are reading this, then the world hasn’t upped and offed itself like radio host Harold Camping said would arrive last Saturday.
I love crackpots like him.
It’s the Harold Campings of the world that give me great pleasure in the fringes of our society. The hype this man received for going on the radio and announcing the end of times is not that shocking to me. It seems any lunatic with a means to transmit their ideas can get their name in the media.
Look at Donald Trump’s hair and tell me this isn’t so.
It’s the crazy folk that grab my attention. Lately it has been adults sporting tri-cornered hats and dressing in revolutionary times clothing yelling a lot of gibberish. Yes, the Tea Party amuses me because for some reason some people take them seriously. Some politicians actually cow to the ridiculous demands from people who dress and speak like they belonged in a mental facility.
Then there are the “Truthers.” The liberal opposite of the Tea Party who act like engineering experts and have crackpot theories about the 9/11 terror attacks. If one more person tells me to watch “Loose Change” I will freak.
I see this mentality growing larger as the years go by. The crazier you are, the better chance you will have a following.
So, the phenomenon of Harold Camping, pseudo-cult leader and radio station owner, is not that surprising. I often wonder if I had a radio station and said jellyfish are great to eat live and if people do eat jellyfish live, then they will be saved on Judgement Day, would people do it.
I think so. And there would be a lot of angry people with sore mouths suing me for my crazed rants.
But I do love conspiracy stories. The more outlandish, the better. I get e-mails and text messages from people I know and total strangers with ominous overtones of doom and terror and who’s hiding what.
I’m surprised that people believe this stuff is really happening. Our government can’t balance the budget, or figure out international relations, but they can operate an “X-Files” style campaign keeping UFOs, the truth behind the Kennedy assassination and what really happened on 9/11 under wraps.
When Dubbya could barely tie his shoes, I doubt he could be behind the sort of conspiracies “Truthers” seem to believe.
Alas, the world has not ended. People have been making “End of Times” theories since the beginning of human consciousness. Every year, someone comes around makes this claim. I do believe these people, nor the whole 2012 theory either. I will celebrate on January 1, 2013 when the world is still in one piece and things are pretty much fine.