Wake Up

When I was a child, my mom told me about the predictions of Nostradamus. One in particular had to with the emergence of an “Antichrist” that would herald the end of times. At that time I was somewhat fascinated with the idea of the apocalypse. I always felt that my life would end at an early stage, either through misadventure or the final end of all things.

Throughout my teens, I became keenly aware of the state of the planet. Pollution and conspicuous consumption were rendering vast tracks of land uninhabitable and the exploitation of the earth’s resources was driving many species into extinction at an ever increasing rate. This awareness is what inspired my environmentalist leanings.

Taking stock today I am aware that, despite my generation’s naive confidence that we were going to fix the problems created by past generations, the world is in a substantially worse condition than anyone ever thought possible. Global warming is no longer a debatable fact yet we are electing world leaders who don’t understand the difference between weather and climate. We watch with disinterest while those same leaders dismantle all plans to help save the planet. My generation is more concerned about the money in our wallets than the availability of food on the table for our children’s children.

The thought that crosses my mind today is - are we witnessing the end of times? Is Nostradamus’ Antichrist among us? If the Antichrist is indeed a great antagonist expected to fill the world with wickedness, how can we ignore our society’s unwavering worship of ‘more’ and the havoc our greed is causing? Everything has its price and our ethics and values are completely flexible as long as the price is right.

“. . . So many evils shall be committed . . .that almost the entire world shall be found undone and desolate. Before these events happen, many rare birds will cry in the air, ‘Now! Now!’ and sometime later will vanish.” - Nostradamus (1503 - 1566)