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Author's Note
Conclusions
The history of apocalyptic fervor and millennial expectation
is written by those secure in their knowledge that all previous predictions
of terminal cataclysm have turned out to be false. After all, if the end
of time ever arrives, it will leave behind no historians or sociologists,
thus making skepticism an appealing and safe alternative. While believers
prepare for the spiritual tsunami that will wash away both sins and sinners,
skeptics make the assumption that it is just another wave that will
eventually collapse, seeping away through the infinite sands of time. Yet
no matter what we believe, we are all destined to experience the effects
of the apocalypse, because it invents itself in the maelstrom of
the human mind, and no logical arguments can stop the storm.
Mere observation is morally insufficient. We need to do damage
control in anticipation of the apocalypse. The challenge is to respect
devout religious belief while focusing societal energy on a millennial
period of introspection and renewal rather than a period of fear and mistrust.
We ignore apocalyptic fears and millennial expectation at our own peril,
and by ignoring the trends, we put others in peril as well. Given the already
evident tendency toward apocalyptic scapegoating as we approach the year
2000, it is entirely predictable that more people will be targeted as evil
agents of the Satanic Antichrist, traitorous minions of the globalist new
world order, or simply sinners to be disciplined and kept in line in religious
campaigns of coercive purity.
In times such as these, history passes a harsh judgment on
silence. Instead of waiting to see who is next on the list, we must speak
out against all forms of apocalyptic demonization, scapegoating, and conspiracism,
because they are toxic to democratic discourse.
Author's Note
Many of the themes and ideas expressed in this paper are
the result of joint work with Matthew N. Lyons on the forthcoming Too
Close for Comfort. Seminars hosted by historian Richard Landes, director
of the Center for Millennial Studies at Boston University, helped me frame
this discussion, as did conversations with Sara Diamond, Fred Clarkson,
Philip Lamy, Aaron Katz, and Erin Miller.
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