H+ posted an article criticizing the monumental uprising of 2012 hype called ’2012: Carnival of Bunkum’.   It is very well written and I particularly appreciated this quotable quip:

“the 2012 shtick is a light-fingered (if leaden-humored) rip-off of the late rave-culture philosopher Terence McKenna’s stand-up routine, without McKenna’s prodigious erudition, effortless eloquence, or arch wit”

The following is a response to the article so you may want to read it first but it is generally one of my responses to many similar denunciations of the 2012 phenomena.

Any clear-eyed rationalist really should be able to see the stark contrast between this temporal juncture of exponential leaps in technology along with the neuron-like networking of human minds and the coinciding ecological ramifications (the serious ones, not the corporate-driven myths). We are facing a period of comparatively infinitely more novelty than previous generations or lifeforms experienced, whether it be the catastrophic or redemptive kind of novelty.   I, like many other level-headed philosophers and scientists, see no empirical, hard evidence of an outside force that guides this back-feeding spiral into a crescendo on the specific date of 12/21/12, but, one must admit, the significance-seeking nature of humanity is crafting quite an elegant self-fulfilling prophecy by hitching on the back of the Maya’s uncannily accurate calendar and Terence McKenna’s mindful musings about a Timewave.

So what if WE are the ones imbuing that date with special significance?   Don’t we do that already every holiday?   If we use 12/21/12 or 13.0.0.0.0 or whatever as a marker for the first globally acknowledged holy moment I can only see that as a good thing.    After all, who doesn’t look forward to celebrating the ever-coiling cycles of the Earth on New Years Eve?   It’s a human-selected day loosely marking the seasons, but it’s also a great party and a lot of people use it as a marker to change their behavior for the better.  Well, the Mayan calendar is wayyy more cosmically accurate than the Gregorian and this date marks a 5,100 year cycle… NOW THAT DESERVES A CELEBRATION (if not all-out yogic, shamanic, poetic, theatric rite of passage and collective sci-fi artwork bonanza)!!   If we use 12/21/12 as a marker for when the authentically unitive voice of humanity declares spiritual autonomy or entry into evolutionary adulthood, then it may just stick and have an empowering effect on generations to come.

Maybe there is some hidden plot-structure to humanity that culminates on a schedule; if so… neat.   And maybe ‘meaning’ is something our consciousness creates for nature and millions of people just randomly decide to celebrate LOVE & TRANSFORMATION on a particular solstice in the middle of the craziest epoch evolution has ever encountered:  ok… awesome.    Or, perhaps, the forces shaping the galaxy and the free-will of mankind both implement their fullest, creative capabilities at the same time… hey, why not?

In any case, the 2012 phenomenon will undoubtedly be exploited for control and profit, but the overall reorientation of values that the 2012 meme will help to organize seems to me to be something worth nurturing and guiding, not simply dismissing as pure baloney.