Listen to me closely there is no such thing as a Maya prophecy about the world ending in 2012.
People worried about the coming of Dec. 21, 2012, have been drinking the same Kool-Aid as the delusional Y2K bug worrywarts.
But, hey, if someone starts screaming that the sky is falling, you can bet there's someone looking to make a profit by selling cloud insurance faster than you can say "How now, brown cow?"
Disaster profiteering preys on people's worries and concerns, which is why it's no surprise to me to see the release of Friday's "2012" movie starring John Cusack.
I haven't seen it, nor do I plan on it.
Mom said never to judge a book by its cover, but she also said there are exceptions to every rule.
Roland Emmerich directs the movie. His resume includes other such uplifting, tree-hugging hippie fare as "Godzilla," "The Day After Tomorrow" and "Independence Day." If Mel Gibson's canon has branded him as a hater of merry ol' England, shouldn't Emmerich's destruction of New York City in those three films make him some sort of antagonist of the Big Apple?
This movie cost $200 million to make, according to a recent New York Times article. It's also more than two-and-a-half hours long, which means you might miss the passing of the storied date while viewing it.
The big screen is a place to dream, experiment and speculate, so it's difficult to criticize Emmerich for plucking things out of the air and imagining the "what ifs," especially about global warming, aliens and that most critical of societal concerns, enormous, fictional monsters from Japan.
This is different, though, because of the level of deception.
The film's marketing has utilized a viral campaign, masquerading their conspiracy theorist B.S. as legitimate sites on the Internet which already acts as a breeding ground for other such outrageous philosophy.
I'm disappointed people are trying to profit off of these apocalyptic fears. I'm not surprised, but I'm disappointed.
There's a moment in another recent film, "Where the Wild Things Are," in which the boy, Max, tells one of the Wild Things that one day, the sun will die. (Watch it here). It's disheartening that there's more scientific truth in a child's well-imagined daydream than in Emmerich's latest vehicle.
"2012" is perpetuating a myth that is a well-established fabrication. Any reputable scholar has repeatedly decried the theories about polar shifts, Planet X, galactic alignment and especially Maya prophecies.
The sun will eventually burn itself out. On the other hand, the Maya calendar did not end on Dec. 21, 2012. It simply marked the beginning of a new phase, a new era.
No? Still unconvinced?
Well, if the Maya were so clairvoyant, how come they didn't foresee the end of their civilization coming?
Don't take my word for it
NASA
National Geographic
Discovery.com
New York Times