Is this the end of the world as we know it?

Song lyrics aside, is this the end of the world as we know it? So much chaos, destruction, disaster. In America alone we have forest fires and oil rig explosions and now threats of Qur’an burning. Fire and brimstone, indeed. What's going on, Jesus?

Did you know that they built a whole village in Russia in just one week following a recent disaster? The houses were even better than the ones before, now they have electricity and plumbing.

And did you know, oh Optimistic One,  that it looks very like it was just a big publicity stunt?

You mean there are no houses?

No, the houses are real but they have cameras all over the village so they can broadcast to the rest of the country how great the government is.

Well, it looks to me like the government did do something pretty damn good! Doesn’t it make you wonder how it is that in America the government can't build houses in Louisiana or Mississippi for those who were left with a slab of concrete and some MRE's? And doesn't it seem ludicrous in the land of milk and honey that it is the Hollywood celebrities (a group second only to politicians in the public polls of most likely to screw up morally and most superficial and self-serving) and not the government who managed to get something actually built?

Hmm! Bit political, don't you think?

If by politics you mean “concerned with the people” then yes. I am all about politics. But if you mean party politics, then no….party politics seems to be mainly a matter of public grandstanding for the sake of private gain. I focus more on the big picture. The advantage of distance, it gives one perspective.

So, back to the end of the world question.

I really didn’t leave the question. It’s all about big picture perspectives. If you focus on specific bad events you tend to miss all the amazing good events – the good news! There are people building houses because someone needs shelter. New drugs and treatment protocols for cancer and other diseases. People walking and demonstrating and donating to so many good causes, standing up to corruption, demanding justice. I see so much hope and virtue, courage and commitment to the good.

Wow! Hope and virtue. Not what most people see when they look at the world.

Ah … as a wise young man once said, “Perspective is everything.” 

And the end of the world, 2012, all that?

We’ll talk again later.