Give Thanks the Cycle Ends 2012 Adding to the end-of-financial-world volume over the fiscal cliff and

post election Republican capitalismdoomsayers and considering all the earthquakes, volcanic activity, and extreme weather we have been experiencing, it's hard not to have apocalyptic thoughts and speculate that we may be approaching the end of time. It is very telling that many cultures have prophecies and calendars that focus on our current world age. These prophecies predict that our current time will be a period of great strife and transformation; they further point to the year 2012 as a period of radical transformation and the culmination of human history. There is a palpable and widespread fear that the present world is unsustainable and that events could easily spin out of control. Some of you might be familiar with the Mayan long-count calendar which has a termination point of December 21 the winter solstice yes kids, no Christmas. There is also TimeWave Zero, which is based on the Chinese system of the I-Ching and maps the fluctuation in the other belief system which points to this date. The TimeWave reaches infinite novelty at the same time as the end-date of the Mayans. Further, there is evidence to suggest that 2012 will coincide with what is expected to be a very active year for sunspots. Some predictions even state that the sun is going through a magnetic pole shift, and this pole reversal may be brought about by the extreme solar activity of 2012. If this were to occur on the sun, it could bring about a devastating situation on the earth, including a pole shift. Some scientists think this pole shift on the earth may be actually occurring whether the sun shifts poles or not. The extreme weather we have been witnessing could just be the human induced Global Warming many are claiming. Researchers at Georgia Tech and at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo., have measured a near doubling in the annual number of Category 4 and 5 storms during the past 35 years. And Kerry Emanuel, professor of meteorology at MIT, has found that Atlantic storms today wield twice the destructive force as those in 1970. Hurricane Sandy is only our most recent apocalyptic weather nightmare. However, I believe America and its politicians should take an optimistic stance, and label 2012 an apocalyptic year. When the Mayans made their calendar, the end signified 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. Apocalypse, as a vernacular term, originated from the Greek term "apocalypsis," which literally means uncovering, in the sense of revealing something. 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, we should take this 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 doesnt 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. Indeed, people the world over have been plagued by the consequence of an era governed by falsehoods and misconceptions. If we give the due significance to the uncovering events of 2012 and face up to the falsehoods and misconceptions that have directed many of our actions with open, discriminating minds, and if we act upon the revelations of the past year and move into a new consolatory, understanding 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.

People mistakenly tie democracy and capitalism together, when in fact democracy keeps capitalism from making all producers prosperous and capitalisms fiscal conservatism and prudence is valued most in a nondemocratic society. Policy debates in Western-style democracies are often characterized as probusiness vs pro-people or pro-growth vs pro-equality. We need to take in the facts as they become apparent and make decisions accordingly without casting doom on everything we hear and without being so self-assured that we think we have it all figured out. Understanding the apocalypse this way transforms a wholly unrealistic concept into something not just possible, but meaningful. Maybe governments and corporations act wisely and with determination, and are supported by the majority of people. The apocalypse is over; give thanks just a few weeks ahead of our annual American holiday that asks the same.