This past week I saw the movie “2012.” Not a bad flick, but it seemed a little far-fetched.

When I got home afterward, I saw previews on TV for “Book of Eli” and “The Road,” two more movies about the end of the world. After that I saw a marathon of end of the world shows on History Channel, Discovery Channel and Nat Geo. There seems to be a pattern.

Now, I think stories like this make for a fun movie and can have a message for people to follow, but there seems to be a cultural obsession with Armageddon nowadays that is bordering on the creepy.

Part of this new trend, no doubt, is the quickly approaching year of 2012. For people who don’t know the stories, the legend goes there are several different ancient cultures around the world, from the Maya to the Chinese, who say something big is going to happen December 21, 2012. Rumor has it this big event is the end of time, which means we’re going to miss Christmas that year. Bummer.

While I doubt most people believe in this conspiracy theory, this endless parade of movies, shows and documentaries about the end times makes me think some people are taking this thing seriously.

Can people really be that paranoid? Can they have so little faith in humanity and our ability to fix things they are already preparing for the end?

For those who think 2012 is the end coming ever closer, they just need to look at the past. It is not the first year to be called the last year we the human race will see.

In the 1830s, the Millerites, a religious group that would eventually become the Church of Latter Day Saints, predicted the world would end in 1843. When the day came and went, they changed their minds and said it would in 1844. Once again, nothing happened and, having learned their lesson, they never again tried to predict when the last day would be.

And, of course, we all remember the last few months leading up to the year 2000. People thought Jesus would return, or the Y2K bug would wipe out computers and lead to a massive nuclear accident. People began to horde water, food and other supplies in their basements and bomb shelters. When New Year’s Eve turned into New Year’s Day and the calendar changed from 1999 to 2000, nothing happened and the world continued as it always has.

A few years later, some people actually got worried about June 6, 2006, believing the date (6/6/06) would cause global disasters and destroy the world.

Today the hot topic is 2012 and the fate of Earth. But it is obvious from the past that probably nothing will happen that day. Jesus has never come back, the Y2K bug never wiped us out and the swine flu is yesterday’s news. No one knows for sure what the future holds, so to waste time and effort trying to prepare for something no one can really prove will happen is a joke.

I liked the movie 2012, but now I can’t wait for that year to come and go, because then people will start freaking out and preparing for the year 3000 and the Y3K bug. That’ll make a great movie some day.

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