Apocalypse, as a vernacular term, originated
from the Greek term "apocalypsis," which
literally means “uncovering,” in
the sense of revealing something. Until Hollywood
filled our heads with images of tidal waves and
meteors, the term was popularized through its
Biblical use. This use carried a connotation
that was subtler: The apocalypse referred to
the uncovering of meaning or understanding hidden
from mankind in a time or atmosphere dominated
by falsehood and misconception.
Without even worrying about the Mayan calendar,
the words of Nostradamus, the prophetic dreams
of Daniel or the revelation made to John, I have
taken the definition to heart and concluded that
we have experienced the apocalypse. To say that
we have spent the past decade or so in an atmosphere
of falsehood and misconception doesn’t
seem too farfetched. The numerous banking scandals
and financial collapses; the extreme polarization
and ethical scandals of politicians; the widespread
rioting and protesting of people who feel betrayed
and unrepresented by their leaders. Indeed, people
the world over have been plagued by the consequence
of an era governed by falsehoods and misconceptions.
2012 seems to be the year that many of those
issues came to a head. A previously hidden (or
perhaps just ignored) understanding that the
derivation of the London Interbank Offered Rate
is a vastly outdated method, based on a time
when banks borrowed primarily from each other;
that a unified European currency may have been
a bad idea; that lending practices and calculation
of risk have become too far removed from the
consequences of their failure; and, most importantly,
that the electorate, or even those citizens and
residents denied the right to vote, will respond.
The people of the world, from Syria to Oakland,
have made their voices heard; from Occupy to
the Arab Spring, even those who were previously
disenfranchised, have stopped hiding their discontent
and have brought about a vast reconsideration
of the systems and forces governing our world.
To me, those are events of apocalyptic significance.
I suppose much of that, though, is contingent
on what we make of it all moving forward. When
the Mayans made their now famous calendar,
the end signified not that they had run out
of space (thank you, Triangle), but that an
apocalyptic cycle was coming to an end and
that the future, the time beyond that date,
would be a new world age. For John, too, the
prophecy of an apocalypse was accompanied by
transition from one age to another, the angels
told him that the fall of Babylon — a
city of sin, falsehoods and misconceptions
of the good life — would be followed
by the rise of a new Jerusalem. If we give
the due significance to the events of 2012
and allow our eyes to be opened to the falsehoods
and misconceptions that have directed many
of our actions over the past decade; if we
act upon the revelations of the past year and
move into a new era, then we can say 2012 was
the year of the apocalypse but also the year
we collectively pulled our head out of the
sand and began to fix and rebuild the systems
we broke.
To take an optimistic stance, I’m going
to label 2012 an apocalyptic year. Revelations
were made, understandings uncovered and the
conversations for “What now?” have
started.
Perhaps it’s too generous to understand
the apocalypse as the shifting of attitudes
and understandings, or an awakening to the
state of the world with far less fanfare and
destruction than Nostradamus or John’s
angels describe. So maybe there’s no
role for Will Smith in the movie adaptation
of 2012. But understanding the apocalypse this
way transforms a wholly unrealistic concept
into something not just possible, but meaningful.
