Mayan Calendar; End of the World...Not so Fast

There has been an increasingly lot of talk in recent weeks, months, and years about the world coming to an abrupt end soon based upon the Mayan Calendar ending on December 21, 2012.  Well, that much is true; the Mayan calendar does stop there, which leads to a lot of speculation as to what it means.

Do I think the world will end someday?  Sure…after all, nothing lasts forever.  Do I think the Mayans, advanced as they may have been, had some sort of wisdom or advanced knowledge beyond that of even Jesus Christ who said when asked…”only the Father knows the hour?”  No, I do not believe they did.

However, I do think I’ve figured out what might have happened down there in the jungle.  Now work with me on this.  The Mayans were indeed a very advanced culture.  They had advanced knowledge of Architecture, Astronomy, the Arts, and you name it; they even did dentistry and probably, like the Romans, had hot and cold running water.  In fact, with the exception of rampant human sacrifices and cannibalism in their temples, and the lack of electronic conveniences, they were probably a lot like us.  

As far as the calendar, I don’t think it is nearly as apocalyptic as many make it out to be.  For one thing, I’m surprised that they bothered making calendars so far in advance in the first place, but that in and of itself lends a lot of credibility to my theory.  We don’t make calendars thousands of years in advance just because, at least not for general use, since why the hell would we?

Here’s what I think took place.  Like us, the Mayans might have had a very strong union presence with locals for such things as bow and arrow makers, spear makers, canoe makers, etc.  So who’s to say there wasn’t a local for the calendar makers, and maybe the union pressure was intense and they just kept extending the dates and making demands?  

So let’s say that one day at some sort of collective bargaining thing, all of the union locals got together and demanded more money and benefits.  The bow and arrow, and spear guys, (defense contractors of the day) were likely in great demand and therefore wanted, and probably deserved more stuff.  However, the tribal elders, or whatever they might have been called, probably looked across that bargaining table and said something like…”look, bows, arrows, and spears we need; calendars…not so much.”  We’ll pay more for the defense needs, but calendars…for thousands of years in the future?!  Nope…can’t do it!

Well, naturally, the calendar makers would have gotten ticked off and walked out of the negotiations and off the job staging a strike; and then the defense contractors and all the rest would have followed suit in solidarity.  All the while, other groups and cultures were starting to set eyes on the booty of that culture.  

So, the calendar guys stopped, the defense guys and all the rest stopped, and the ‘invaders’ had a ‘seize the day’ sort of moment.  And just like that, a thriving culture was a thing of the past.

Mind you, this is just a theory.  I suppose it is possible that the Mayans really did take an educated guess at future predictions; who can say?  This much I do know though; don’t stress or freak out over things that we have absolutely no control of.  Let’s just relax and go about our business as best we can. 

But just in case the Mayans were right, maybe you should consider holding off on any major purchases until the 22nd of December.  I’m just sayin.’  Happy Holidays.