The downfall of society
By: Emma Tibbetts
Source: http://media.www.laloyolan.com

In 7th grade I learned that the ancient Mayans predicted the end of the world would come in the year 2012. I thought that was a silly thing to be so sure about, especially considering they came to that conclusion millennia beforehand. However, in recent years, I am starting to get nervous.

There are some things that are just too marked to ignore.

First, CIA black sites. The secret prisons, run by the CIA to hold terrorists and only recently acknowledged by Congress, are a sure sign of the downfall of society. The fact that these prisons have existed for seven years and have not been held accountable for upholding any of the human rights guaranteed by the Geneva Convention or the Bill of Rights, even despite several lawsuits citing violation of habeas corpus and erroneous renditions (as in they apprehended innocent people and tortured them for several months before they realized they weren't even the right people).

The use of several banned "interrogation techniques" is justified by post-9/11 legislation as a tool to aid in the War on Terror, such as water-boarding, which makes the detainee feel as though he or she is drowning.

If the world's "super power," who has esteemed itself as the moral enforcement agent in the international community since World War I, can justify the use of torture techniques and other violations of human rights in its plight to try to end such abuse, something in this world is surely amiss.

Second, a seemingly less grave but equally alarming development in the international community, the development of human-animal "chimeras." The United Kingdom has been engaging in gene splicing between animals and humans in an attempt to generate stem cells for research. I agree with the British skeptics of the program, who have stated that this causes a blurring of the meaning of humanity.

What were to happen if one rebellious researcher decided not to terminate the embryo 14 days after fertilization (according to UK law)? What if a part-pig, part-human embryo was implanted in a uterus and carried to term? Would the resulting infant/piglet be granted human rights, or only animal rights? Would we have to redefine the meaning of humanity to account for the treatment of such a creature? Surely there would be backlash no matter the decision.

The fact that such an audacious abuse of the power of science could been seen as a worthy endeavor of the British medical research community is not only a symbol that science has gone too far, but also an indication that there really is no value for the meaning of humanity anymore. This makes my pre-apocalypse indication list.

In the same vein is the pregnant man. Thomas Beatie, a happily married Oregonian, is pregnant. Formerly a Hawaiian woman, Beatie underwent hormone therapy and a breast reconstruction surgery as part of his sex-change procedures. He has not had a menstrual cycle in eight years. However, Beatie chose not to remove his original female sex organs as part of the procedure. Several years later, he became pregnant by way of artificial insemination and is now four short months away from (a hopefully Cesarean) delivery. If there is any indication that society has lost itself, this surely qualifies. The fact that a person's true identity can be so objective, that a woman can become a man and then subsequently become a mother (and father) without any second thought, demonstrates just how far humanity has come since its origins.

On December 21, 2012, don't be surprised to hear my, "I told you so, Thomas."