Chapter 1: What Is Doomsday?

 

“One of the illusions of life is that the present hour is not the critical, decisive hour. Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year. No man has learned anything rightly, until he knows that every day is Doomsday.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

Doomsday has become such a commonplace part of the English language that many people no longer understand the true significance of the word.  When the word originated, it was far more than just a commonly passed phrase.  It was a word that struck fear and reverence into the hearts of men.  It was so well known that it was often used as a reminder that tomorrows are not guaranteed and certain things should be handled within the appropriate time frame.  Doomsday, sometimes called  Armageddon by those with a Christian background, was a word that signified the end of the world and life as we know it. 

 

Many biblical scholars and clergy were vehement in their belief that God would come to exact vengeance on a world full of sinners.  They based these beliefs on biblical passages such as Matthew 24: 21-22 (KJV) which reads, 21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.  22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.  According to many religious individuals, this scriptural passage and others like it demonstrate that God intends to wipe out life on the planet earth, as retribution for human disobedience.

 

In modern times, the supposed causes of the impending Doomsday have branched out.  There are groups who believe armies of zombies will rise from their graves and attack humans.  Others believe that the annihilation of mankind will be a direct result of the technology that has become such a staple portion of our daily lives.  Still others believe that natural events, such as global warming induced storms, meteorites, earthquakes or volcanic activity will play a major part in triggering the end of the world.  Even our pop culture includes telling clues that the widespread notion and fear of an impending global Doomsday event still exist with movies like I Am Legend, Omega Man and others telling the stories of solitary survivors who have made it through the apocalyptic events of earth's final days.

 

This concept of complete and total destruction of the earth and her inhabitants was so pervasive that a group of directors for the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists created the Doomsday Clock in 1947, at the height of the Cold War between Russia and the United States.  The position of the hands on this symbolic clock demonstrate the threat level around the globe for a Doomsday triggering event by moving the hands of the clock closer to midnight when threat levels are increased.  While the system was originally designed as a way to quantify the actual threat of a world-scale nuclear war, it has also come to include other trigger events such as large-scale natural disasters and global temperature changes. 

 

When talking of preparations for Doomsday, many families and individuals consider it more appropriate to plan for Doomsday events.  These events might include local, regional or global disasters.  This allows the planner to prepare for events that are likely to occur without going to extremes in planning for contingencies that seem unlikely.  By planning for a global event, such as nuclear war, the individual can be better prepared to meet the challenges of localized events, such as tornadoes or earthquakes.  Unfortunately, the high costs associated with preparing for unlikely events might deter many people from planning at all so the practice of planning for feasible events has become a more common method among the prepping community.   While there are certainly individuals who will attempt to plan for every contingency, building shelters that can withstand nuclear attack and stockpiling food supplies, the fellow with a six month supply of canned goods and a first aid kit is still considered to be a Doomsday prepper, as well.  This latter individual is actually becoming the more common individual in the prepping community and he is likely to be someone just like you.