We need an apocalypse

Before you start gathering your pitchforks to protest the title, hear me out (and forgive the deviation from my normal topics).

I was recently introduced to a very interesting article through a professional mailing list I subscribe to. The article, written by Junot Diaz, is titled "Apocalypse: What Disasters Reveal" and appeared in the May/June 2011 Boston Review. Diaz's exploration of the meaning of apocalypse and what an apocalypse is was particularly intriguing to me. Drawing from James Berger, he explained that there are three types of apocalypses, yet all three types have one common thread: "it must be revelatory" (para. 3).

The idea of an apocalypse as a revelation, while perhaps not a new idea in general, was a revelation in itself to me. Continuing this train of thought, it makes sense then to find the Catholic/Christian description of the Apocalypse (read: end of the world as we know it) to be contained in the last part of the Bible, the book of Revelations. I started to examine the world at large with this new perspective, and I think it is indeed time for an apocalypse.

The point of Diaz's article was that an apocalypse can reveal inherent social and socio-economic problems, which close examination and reflection show were indirect or direct causes of the apocalypse. He concentrates on the earthquake at Haiti to illustrate the facets of his discussion, and the more I read, the more the article made me think (which all good articles do).

We're coming up on 2012, a year that has gained infamy due, in part, to the Mayan calendar that mysteriously stops at December 21, 2012 (I personally think they just ran out of room to include more days). Many people in many professions from astronomy to archeology theorize what the end of the calendar means, what will happen on that day, and what those events will mean for us.  A movie came out recently depicting the Hollywood version of what will happen during this year. I don't think that world-wide catastrophe is in our future, but I really hope we have an apocalypse of the third kind, "a disruptive event that provokes revelation" (Diaz, 2011, para. 3). Look around at our society, our world. We need it, otherwise I worry that things won't change--or they'll get worse.

I've posted before about the great (drastic) changes that are happening around the world. Natural disasters, economic and social turmoil, political division, and revolution seem to be happening with greater frequency. The attitude of our society, and perhaps the global society to some extent, has become very "me-orientated" with a strong sense of entitlement (I deserve to have this, no matter the cost). I think part of this is due to our survival instinct kicking in because our livelihood is threatened and we revert to an every-man-for-himself strategy. But as I see problems in some areas worsening and many others so slow to recover, I can't help but think that we all need an attitude adjustment. We need a strategy to promote cohesiveness and compromise because I truly believe that we're only going to successfully get through our current and future troubles as one.

So we need that apocalypse to give us a revelation to help shift our attitudes and give us perspective. We need a jolt to our system to see our way clear through to the other side. Regardless of whether the doomsday predictions are true, 2012 will be a year of change--which we must be prepared to meet.

Diaz, J. (2011). Apocalypse: What disasters reveal. Boston Review, May/June. Retrieved from http://bostonreview.net/BR36.3/junot_diaz_apocalypse_haiti_earthquake.php