I’ve always understood the allure of the blue pill. All things being equal, I could even understand a time when I might happily swallow the illusion of another life. And I reserve the right to do so, perhaps as I leave this existence, if it helps me in my final moments.
But what is the price I’d be willing to pay for such a pill? Hard to say. All I know is that I would refuse to let it shut me off from the life I possess now. But for those who truly believe that Saturday marks the Rapture, the day when the faithful are taken up to heaven, and those who don’t believe will face six months of Tribulation before their damnation to eternal suffering, their belief is a heavy burden.
It’s incredibly sad to think of all these people who have put their lives on hold, who have quit jobs and set aside relationships, who have stopped celebrating what is already an all-too-short existence, in order to preach the message that we are going to leave this world very soon.
Not that I think those who don’t buy into this silliness should shy away from having fun. I think the many Judgment Day pub crawls and Rapture parties are terrific.
Humor is an invaluable tool for shining a light on crazy.
According to this piece by Michael Tracey, even the most devoted of Harold Camping’s followers are having trouble ingesting the blue pill. On a visit to a New Jersey radio station that broadcasts Camping’s Daily Forum messages to the greater New York City area, even the station manager has trouble taking it seriously.
Jason showed me a photo that the station manager had displayed in another room, featuring a silly clown shrugging flamboyantly, with “May 21, 2011″ written overhead. Another photo was tacked on a bulletin board, with the faux-headline “May 22, 2011: Mass Committal to Loony Bin” and an amateurish photoshop job of some people in straightjackets.
Not only does the station manager reject the May 21 prophesy, I asked Jason — but he openly mocks it?
