Living in an interesting time

There is an apocryphal saying attributed to the Chinese that has a dual meaning: may you live in interesting times. [Thirty seconds of Google research turned up a Wikipedia entry indicating the actual origin of the saying is unknown, which comports with my understanding, so it must be correct.] While this saying sounds like an odd compliment or blessing, it is considered a curse. Whatever its true origins, the saying is quite fascinating to me, and rings true as a veiled curse.

There can be very little doubt that we live in interesting times, however, I'm not at all certain there have ever been times that were not intersting on some level. Our technoligical prowess is quite incredible, considering the world changed little by little prior to the late nineteenth century, but is now progressing in what seems like geometric progression. Add to this technological innovation the massive number of wars spread across the earth like metastisizing cancer, often leading to very unexpected and unpredictable results. Throw in the oddly large number of natural disasters our planet seems to be experiencing, and it all starts to feel like something is coming.

I'm reminded of the Yeats poem, "The Second Coming", which ends with the odd couplet:

"And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?"

Its not that I'm saying I think Jesus is on deck waiting to drop in at this moment, but the Bible says he can drop in at any moment. I'm very fond of apocalyptic thought but I'm always skeptical of people who say the time is now. No one knows the time, not even Jesus himself, as he made clear. People tend to make too much of the times in which they live, and are prone to equate the events in their times to the end of the world. I've heard it called "newspaper theology" and most believers are probably guilty of such thinking on occasion. I am no exception, but...

...while I think the times are indeed very interesting, I also think they were very interesting when the Black Plague swept across Europe, or when the European "discovery" of the New World wiped out the majority of the indigenous not-yet Americans. The times were probably interesting when fascists tried to enslave the world, and when men discovered that splitting tiny particles can destroy entire cities. I agree with the sentiment that our times are certainly suspicious, but I would have been equally or more suspicious at other times in history.

The end of the world? I certainly don't know. Despite my general cynicism, I tend to very optimistic when it comes to disaster and extreme scenarios. No more bills, no more taxes, no more junk mail and no more traffic.