We’re Doomed

I’m betting there are lots of posts like this one out there that are convinced we’re doomed -- “an earthquake is coming”. Normally, I wouldn’t comment on them except that Instapundit gave this one a link. One of the reasons I like to read Instapundit is his remarkably optimistic demeanor regarding most things. There is very little about which he writes with which I disagree. He does, however, seem to be a bit of a doomsday aficionado.

One of the things about being older than most (at least, many) on the Internet is that I have a seen a few things come and go. One thing I know is that there is a group of people who seem to revel in making doomsday predictions. They have all sorts of great reasons and justification and they’re almost always very convincing.

There also seems to be a number of people who savor or “enjoy” or are just, in my opinion, overly interested in these doomsday scenarios -- the two groups probably overlap somewhat. Perhaps it’s a bit unfair, but Instapundit seems to be a member of this latter group. I write this with some authority as a former member of this latter group.

Doomsday predictions seem to occur most often during times of national or international tension: the early 50s with Soviet successes in, well, everything were the first I know of in my life. Predicted geological “events” can also invoke these (the Big One is CA is the gold standard). Religious opinions are always fertile ground for doomsday scenarios (from The Late, Great Planet Earth to Global Warming). The Obama election and the Democrat’s (apparent) control of Congress seems to be newest tension.

During my life, a disturbing trend has manifested itself in the West towards Doomsday-ism, a term I would define as the creating, enhancing, and generally indulging in predictions of Doomsday and Doomsday scenarios. It used to be mostly a preoccupation of the right and especially the religious. For those very reasons it used to be ridiculed, but with the creation of the faux religion, environmentalism, the left can and does indulge in its own Doomsday-ism. With abandon.

And this is where I wonder, if the number of believers in Doomsday, any kind, passes some critical mass, what effects would this have on society as a whole?

I think one can already see some of the effects. One is certainly the lack of political will to deal with real problems as opposed to phony ones. For example, there are real, documented, well-understood problems caused by the real and de facto open border policies of the various countries of the West. There are lots of people, also in government, who ignore, don’t care, or simply deny these problems -- merely mentioning them is racist or something.

Ultimately, the thing that annoys me the most about Doomsday-ism is the smug, almost gleeful expectation of societal disaster. The religious advocates of Y2k disaster (still at it, I see) were especially nasty in this regard. The fact is, societies are amazingly resilient, filled with amazing and innovative people. Western societies as well as a number of Asian societies are even more resilient to stress because of a strong work ethic (a beaten-down though it may be). And finally, if it comes to that Doomsday, whatever it is, we’ll get by.

NB, it should go without saying (but is not nowadays), this is not to say that the concerns of the various Doomsday groups are without worth. It’s to say that just because an issue seems important it’s not always necessary to turn one’s concerns up to 11.

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