It's the end of the world as we know it... and I feel fine

Why are people so fascinated by Apocalyptic stories?  There are so many people who think that the Book of Revelations is actually in the process.  I don't know how I feel about it actually being the in the process as of now.  It's just so crazy that there are so many television shows that discuss it so frequently.  There's also that weird contradiction of these shows being aired on the History channel.  I get that much of the things that could destroy us have come from the past.

Though we don't know for sure but the overwhelming evidence points regarding the destruction of the dinosaurs came from a giant asteroid.  We do know that there are thousands of unaccounted meteors and asteroids that could hit earth and have a similar effect.  The scariest for me is the threat of plague.  I don't know what scares me more; the idea that I feel like it is far more likely than an asteroid or the fact that it could be created by the very people it would kill.  You'll never see me regretting our scientific advantages and discoveries.  I'm totally for the continuous study to understand ourselves and the world (universe, multi-verse) around us. However there is the unfortunate side effect that many of these same discoveries have enabled us to not only kill each other but actually have the capacity to destroy us as a species.

Even as I write, "why do we watch these things" I sit here watching "Seven Signs of the Apocalypse."  I try not to be too hard on myself as I know I can't be alone in being curious about what may eventually destroy us.  We are all fascinated by what we may eventually die from; it's the strange desire to seek out media regarding it.  When I was thirteen part of what initiated my religious fervor was the Left Behind series written about the Apocalypse.  Sorry I know this is going to sound disjointed but sometimes I wonder why it is so necessary to state the obvious so repetitively: "If a person is bleeding out and they can't get to a hospital, they will die.  Even the modern buildings designed to withstand earthquakes aren't fool proof..."  Really, there a resounding "duh" happening in my head right now.

Humans are fascinated by what we most fear.  What most of us fear is our own mortality not just as individuals but the mortality of our species, our planet.  The idea that even our sun will eventually die is terrifying and intriguing in almost equal measure.  We despise admitting our own vulnerability.  I know that first hand and my life was never at stake.  The truth of the matter is that we are a very vulnerable species and in the end there are thousands of things that can destroy us permanently.  It's good for us to contemplate these different possibilities because in the end we want to feel alive.  I've heard it said that people tend to desire sex after going to a funeral.  Confronting our own mortality causes us to do the very thing that makes us feel most alive in addition to it being the very thing that also produces life.

Contemplation of our destruction captivates our interests only slightly more than the contemplation of my purchasing that cell phone.  We may die sometime soon but we should most definitely die in style playing angry cats on our smart phones.