A lot of media attention has been shed recently on the Mayan prophecies (and many other sources) that the world will end in December of 2012. How would people really react if the world were coming to an end? While everyone can pretty much agree that there would be a lot of crazy stuff going on, like looting and rioting or whatever, how would people change how they act other than spontaneous anarchistic outcries of violence? I think that, with the exception of the crazies, many people would bunker down, try to make peace with their families, and at least try to enjoy their last moments on Earth with the ones they love. That is what makes the most sense to me, as that is what I would most likely do myself.
Also, how would the government try to handle the situation? Obviously they could not control the fate of the world, but would they tell the public everything about it? I do not believe they would. For all we know, the prophecies could predict the end of the world is in 2011 but the government wants to avoid the problem of riots by telling everyone we have an extra year. Or maybe everything is just a load of bullshit. I for one do not necessarily buy into the theories of the end of the world, but I am open to the possibility. It may just be another Y2K thing, where everyone just sighs the big relief then feels bad when they realize, "Maybe quitting my job by punching my boss in the face was a bad idea.." but still, there is always the off-chance everything as we know it will change, or possibly end.
My question is, how would you feel if some concrete evidence came that the world was ending? Would you be a rioter or a calm, peacemaker, or something different entirely? Also, do you think the government would be honest with the information or just cover it up?
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I think that there would be a lot of rioting and issues in the beginning. If there were to be concrete evidence to suggest that the world was going to end in 2012 I think panic would be the obvious initial reaction of most of society. Following the initial shock of the facts, I think that people would start to consider what was important to them and how they should conclude their lives. Looking at it from another standpoint, it would be really hard for society to keep moving forward at the same pace it had been prior to the release of information. Many people would want to go on vacations, stop working, and society would suffer greatly from this. If people stopped working, society would not be able to function regularly and many people wouldn't be able to do everything they once did. The government would have no choice but to cover this up because the negative affects would outweigh telling everyone that the world was coming to an end. It's comparable to considering if everyone were to get the news that they have fatal cancer and will die within a couple months. Everyone's reactions would be different but would probably all focus around enjoying the conclusion of life.
ReplyDeleteI don't know that i could accept concrete evidence of the end of the world short of the world actually ending before my eyes. I think, however, enough people would react that we would get an insight into human nature and whether humans will follow the natural/moral laws of the natural law theorist or if they will act like animals and become riotous and anarchistic.
ReplyDeleteIf there was concrete evidence that the end of the world was imminent, I feel like everyone would riot. I feel like society would collapse and social order would be dominated by violence. Personally, I would try to do anything possible to make the remainder of my life as fulfilling as possible, even at the expense of others. I doubt that everyone would share my approach, but when faced with the certainty of my demise, I would lose my conscience and act out of impulse rather than reason. Also, if the government were to find out about something like this, I feel like we would not be informed until the last possible moment to minimize the window for chaos and prevent the premature demise of many people. The government would seek to preserve its own self interests for as long as possible, which means we wouldn't be told until would be almost too late.
ReplyDeleteI’m not sure the government would tell the people everything they know about the world coming to an end. I think they would expect riots to happen and to protect the country they would want to keep as much information from us as possible. Certainly people would want to spend their last days with all the luxuries they ever wanted, but there would still be people who treat it as a normal day. I think rioting would definitely be a problem, but I think panic and shock would be more relevant.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe remotely in the Mayan prophecies predicting the end of the world in December of 2012. If the government does know something about the world ending, I don't think they would say anything. If the government did tell the people, it would cause hysteria and people would go crazy. By crazy, I am not saying everyone will go looting and rioting, simply people would have trouble living life to its fullest in their remaining days. In fact, most people would act in a peaceful manner.
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