My 2012 Prophecy...

[Vypyrz]

First off, this is going to be a long post. It is purely my own opinion, so there are no scientific studies, data, or debates to justify it. It is based solely on what I see as I look at the world around me.
Last night my nephew called "just to see how I was doing", since we haven't spoken in a few weeks. He off-handedly commented about the fact that he would be graduating high school in 6 weeks (has it been that long?). I think there may have been an ulterior motive to this phone call, and I suddenly forsee a fast approaching deduction from my bank account. While we were discussing his future plans as far as college, possible careers, etc... He said something that startled me. He said he couldn't wait to get out of high school because he was tired of hearing all of his classmates constantly complaining about the future. I asked him to explain this. He said that most of his classmates have no plans to attend college, embark on careers, or anything, because there is no point since the world is going to end in 2012. They actually plan on staying at home, sponging off their parents, partying, and waiting for the end of the world. Seriously? Could some of you parents and/or teenagers please enlighten me? Is this what Generation Y, Z, or whatever letter we are on now truly believes? Is this an entire generational doomsday cult? At this point I started telling him what my theory on the 2012 deadline is.
I do not believe the world will actually end. I do not believe that an asteroid is going to collide with Earth and I do not believe Armageddon will occur. I do believe, however, that is when we, as the human race, will reach the end of our imagination, and artistic creativity and our technology will both surpass and replace that creativity.
I'll start off with food. We have become so dependant on pre-cooked, pre-packaged, pre-canned, pre-heated, pre-frozen, ready-to-eat, self-serve, self-checkout, express lane, open all night drive-thru junk food, that alot of people can no longer prepare their own meals. The vast majority of people don't know how to grow their own food, let alone trap/snare an animal, kill it, gut it, skin it and prepare it for consumption. Hunting and harvesting is merely a quick trip to the grocery store and 2 minutes in the microwave.Our technology does this for us.
Now, let's look at music. There is only a finite number of musical notes that can be played, therefore, there is only a finite number of combinations that these notes can be arranged in, which means there is no more "truly" new music. Everything played is just a repeat of something played before. Sure, you can speed it up, slow it down, or use technology to change the overall sound, but the song remains the same. Our last great musical creation was what? Techno, which was created in whole or part on computers. Our technology did this for us.
Next comes movies. Am I the only one whose noticed that true original movie ideas are coming fewer and farther between? I mean, with all the people in the movie industry, the best that they can come up with is hi-fi, hi-def, re-hashed, regurgitated, re-casted, remakes of movies, T.V. shows, and comic books that have already been done. Oh, don't forget to add an ample amount of computer generated graphics to make it "new". Our technology does that for us.
Now I will talk about comedy. No new jokes. "Comedians" today do nothing more than criticize, ridicule, and degradize the faults and shortcomings of various individuals, groups, and ethnic populations. Perhaps we should find this sad, yet we laugh. Possibly, by laughing at other peoples faults, we are simply denying our own. What was our last great joke creation? Chuck Norris jokes? Now there is a legacy to leave behind. Anthropologists of the future are going to think Chuck Norris was our God based on the jokes we made about his immortality and omni power. By the way, Chuck Norris played "The Force" in Star Wars. Our technology did not do this for us.
Next, let's talk about the human race in general. The Law of Natural Selection basically states that the strong will survive and the weak, sick, old, and genetically deficient will not. This has held true since the begining of time in nature, yet, due to our technology, we have come to defy this law. Thanks to everything from electricity to climate control to medical practices, we have allowed everyone to survive more and longer, when the reality is, according to nature, they should not have. The result is, we have now so grossly over populated the planet that where we once existed as part of nature, we now have become nothing more than a parasite of it. Politicians and scientist say we can save the planet. We must act now, before we reach the point of no return. I say we have long since passed the point of no return. The Industrial Revolution was the point of no return. For that was when we truly began to rape, pillage, plunder, and pollute the planet without abandon, consequence or recourse. Recycling? Futile at this point based on the shear magnitude of waste that has been, and will continue to be generated. In order to support our ever increasing population, we continue to clear land in order to expand our habitats, while continually driving other species into extinction by destroying theirs. Is there even enough land left to produce enough food for everyone to eat? Barely. We have become so dependant on our own technology that we have actually weakend ourselves as a species. A/C in the summer, heating in the winter, plumbing all around. Me make artificial environments to live in, away from nature, instead of, as part of it. We don't walk. We ride. Why? Because it's easier. We don't climb stairs. We take the elevator. Why? because it's easier. We want our technology to do more of the work so that we can do less. Why? Because it's easier. We have even tried to shortcut our own physical fitness. Running/ walking outside is medievel. I can go to a fully air-conditioned/ heated gym and use a treadmill, eliptical trainer or stationary bike. Why? because it's easier. If I want to sweat, I don't need to work out. I can sit in a sauna. Why? Because it's easier. Bowflex, Total Gym, Thigh Master, Gazelle, Ab Lounge. Got a big gut? Don't do crunches. Electrocute it with a Slendertone. 10 Minute Abs, 6 Minute Abs, 3 Minute Abs, Body by Jake, Billys Boot Camp, Tae Bo, Turbo Jam, Salsa dance that butt away. Dance like a stripper, we'll send you a pole for your coffee table, AHHHHHHHH!!!!! Why? Because it's easier. I'll tell you this. We have become one big, fat, lazy, pasty, pampered morph of our ancestors. We, in our quest for greater technology to make things easier, have even managed to reduce/remove the element of personal contact from our lives. Do we visit and converse with our family and friends? No. We webcam it. Do we attend social functions? No. We'll catch it on YouTube. Do we even take the time to hand write a personal letter? No. Send an e-mail. We have gotten to the point where we hardly even talk to each other on the phone. We text. Why? Because it's easier.
By now, you have got to be thinking "What is the point to this freakishly long novel?"
My point is this. And this is my prophecy for 2012. The human population will finally reach critical mass. There will not be enough natural resources to support the population. The first group of humans will leave Earth in search of a new planet to colonize and start the whole process over again. Perhaps they will forecast a calendar that ends in 5012 and cause the same drama for their descendants. Because we will have reached the limits of our imagination and creativity, we will become completely reliant on our technology for ideas, solutions, and our very survival. Computers win... Checkmate. Our technology did this....


Rob