The Sky is Falling. The Sky is Falling.
Copyright © October 5, 2015 by Robert Wayne Atkins, P.E.
All Rights Reserved.
The Story of Chicken Little
One day an acorn fell down from an oak tree and hit Chicken Little on the head. He immediately cried out, "The sky is falling. The sky is falling." And he decided to run and tell the King that the sky was falling.
Along the way Chicken Little met a hen, a duck, a goose, and a turkey, and Chicken Little told each one that the sky was falling. As soon as they heard the terrible news, each one immediately began running behind Chicken Little on their new mission to tell the King that the sky was falling, and to find a safe place to hide when the sky fell.
A short time later they met a fox. When they told the fox that the sky was falling and where they were going, the fox asked them if they knew where the King lived. All five of them said they did not know where the King lived. Immediately the sly fox said he knew where the King lived and that he would lead them to the King. Then the sly fox led them to the entrance of his den and the fox told them to quickly go inside because that was where they would find the King. And they all voluntarily entered the fox's den, one right behind the other. The fox was the last one to enter his den.
Time passed and except for the fox, none of the others ever came out of the fox's den and none of them were ever seen again.
Misinterpretation of an Event
There was nothing unusual about an acorn falling down from an oak tree, or hitting someone on the head. The problem was the misinterpretation of that event, and the false conclusion that was reached, and the panic that was caused when the rumor was repeated several times. Finally, a shrewd fellow was able to use the rumor to his advantage and he was the only one who profited from the unnecessary panic that had terrorized everyone who believed the false rumor.
When I first heard the false rumor that the world was coming to an end in the year 1975, I reacted like the hen, the duck, the goose, and the turkey in the above story. However, I came to my senses about six months later and I realized that the world was not going to end, but instead there would always be periods of good times, normal times, and hard times. I also realized that a prudent person should prepare for the hard times in a realistic and practical way during the good times and the normal times. This would help to stabilize the living conditions for that person's family so that they could survive the occasional hard times while minimizing the potential hardships that could be caused by those hard times.
Since the year 1975 I have personally heard from a wide variety of different sources that "the world as we know it" will be coming to an end very soon, and that I had better get ready for it or my family will not survive "the end of the world as we know it." It is now the year 2015 and during the past forty years the world has not come to an end.
However, during the past forty years my family has experienced good times, normal times, and hard times. Fortunately we were able to successfully endure the occasional hard times with the least amount of stress because we were prepared for the challenges that are typical when hard times occur.
Conclusion
Will the world eventually come to an end? The Holy Bible says that it will. But the Bible also says that the LORD will have control over this event, and that it will happen when the LORD wants it to happen, and it will happen in the exact way that it is described in the Holy Bible. If you would like to know more about this biblical event then please click here.
Will the world come to an end based on the misinterpretation of normal events? I don't think so. For example, the following are all tragic events and they all have a devastating impact on the geographical area that is impacted by that event. However, the following events usually do not have a global impact:
1. Tornados, Hurricanes, Floods, Earthquakes, and Volcanic Eruptions.
2. Wars including the use of Biological, Chemical, and Nuclear Weapons.
3. Terrorist Attacks on Peaceful Communities.
4. Government Persecution of its Law Abiding Citizens.
5. Famines, Natural Plagues, and Manmade Epidemics.
6. Plus a wide variety of other possible but unlikely events (asteroid impact, solar flare, etc.).
My suggestion is that you should not respond to the news about the above events like I did in 1975, and like the hen, the duck, the goose, and the turkey in the above story. And I suggest that you beware of any fox who has a hidden agenda for encouraging you to react in fear and in panic to the news about the above events. Instead I suggest that you remain calm and rational and that you use good common sense to prepare for future hard times in a realistic manner in proportion to your budget.
On the other hand, if your family is in the direct path of one of the above tragic events then you should take immediate action to remove your family from the danger area.
Respectfully,
Grandpappy.
Grandpappy's e-mail address is: RobertWayneAtkins@hotmail.com