(May 24, 2011) — As humans, we tend to have a gullible quality about us. We buy into — and even spread — rumors that are usually neither reasonable nor true. Three years ago, I started hearing murmurs and discussions about 2012 and the end of the world. I’ll admit that I’ve had my share of mini-scares over these theories. I watched the History Channel, spent hours searching online for 2012-related terms, and watched documentaries on connections between religion and the supposedly doomed fate of humanity. But I started realizing the foolishness of it all somewhere in the mess of “Apocalypse” links and “World War III” clips. Each time a crisis arises — as in Chile, Haiti, Japan, etc. — people start to become somber and sympathetic. We get together and sing “Songs for Japan” and raise “Hope for Haiti,” but after a few weeks, we revert back to our old ways, leading lives of greed and corruption. Our world is ridden with violence, immorality, and injustice; some leaders deprive their people of rights that should be guaranteed to every man, and others steal money from the government amidst public suffering and economic turmoil. There are times when I think that we should take these disasters as some sort of a sign, telling us to stop our unjust ways. The bottom line is that we’re worrying about the wrong things; what we should be focusing on is how to change ourselves and our world for the better. Instead of busying our brains with ridiculous theories and scaring ourselves to the point where we start building underground shelters for December of next year, we should be helping those around us. Efforts should be directed towards fighting for people’s rights, seeking truth, and setting things right. People need to act wisely and make their lives more meaningful. For all we know, this could easily be another Y2K, with the media sensationalizing a simple bit of information. What happens if we don’t disintegrate in 20 months? Then we’ll have wasted so much time on foolishness. The important question isn’t whether or not these theories are true, but whether we’re taking it upon ourselves to improve as people and fulfill our potential. Our parents tell us that we are the future. Why don’t we think about how to make it a little brighter and less vulnerable to disaster?