Armageddon?

I am not a religious person. But, I admit that I'm thinking about Armageddon. The disasters, both natural and man-made, over the past few years have me wondering; is Armageddon nigh? Was the end of the Mayan calendar a prediction of the end of time in 2012?

Earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, an unusually cold winter in many parts of the world, global warming. Those are just some of the “natural” phenomena occurring recently. Then, we have the oil spills and the breaching of several nuclear power plants in Japan. Warfare and genocide in the Middle East, Africa and other parts of the world. I've never seen anything this bad in all my years.

I've been reading the “Maximum Ride” series of books written mostly for adolescent readers by James Patterson. The books center around some genetically engineered children who can fly, breath under water and have other super powers. They were created in a laboratory and as the series progresses it is becoming obvious that they were conceived in test tubes to replace we regular humans when we destroy ourselves and planet Earth through greed and our cavalier attitude toward our environment. Portent of the future of mankind, or merely entertaining reading? I don't dismiss writers of fiction out-of-hand. Remember Jules Verne and his futuristic submarine? How about George Orwell's “Big Brother” concept where the government is able to keep constant tabs of where you are and what you're doing? Think security cameras, not only in private retail stores, but on many public streets and other venues. GPS devises in our cell phones and the IPS addresses on our computers.

The United States used to be the most productive, inventive, hopeful and wealthy country in the world. We were the envy of the world. We had a middle class that was able to buy a house, buy a car or two, put the kids through college and retire in comfort when we were of a certain age. Now, the middle class is a vanishing species here. I'm beginning to see the day when you either have, or you have not. We don't actually make much of anything in this country any more. Even cars that are manufactured by American companies like Ford, GM and Chrysler have many of their parts made in Japan or Korea and other parts of the world. Good old all American Levi Strauss blue jeans and Hershey's chocolate bars are made in Mexico nowadays.

The unions that helped create the American middle class are on the verge of extinction. Case in point: the public employee and teacher's unions in Wisconsin. Governor Scott Walker and his cronies are trying to grind them into the ground and make them extinct.

Yes, I will concede that union greed had a major hand in making major companies move their manufacturing operations over seas. Perhaps they encouraged their members to demand too much. But our government is complicit in encouraging these companies to move to China, Taiwan, Vietnam, etc. by giving them tax breaks and other incentives to move their operations with “free trade” legislation, thereby throwing American workers out into the cold.

This country is owned by a few very rich corporations and individuals – not by we the people. Those very rich corporations and individuals are motivated by greed to have more and more and more. They do not care about what they are doing to the environment nor to the economies of the world. Maybe by shaking us up (literally with earthquakes), God, or Yahweh, or Jehovah, or Allah or whatever you call your higher power, is trying so say something to us all. Could it be, “You folks had your chance, and you failed miserably. So kiss your miserable asses goodbye.”