With the Rapture soon upon us–not, I take comfort in reading the many books on the folly of crowds, parade of madness-spouting end-of-dayers, and unfathomable stupidity of endlessly gullible followers who apparently have no day job to keep them busy. And yes, I believe in God, but not the religions that have sprung up like weeds, so intent on constantly interpreting the Word. Neither do I suffer the doomsday prognostications of silly interpreters who–seriously–need to brush up on their spiritual language skills. And since God's busy running the Universe, he leaves us alone to make our own decisions, no strings attached. The only strings are the ones we pull, and boy, there are a lot of puppets doing crazy dances out there.
Me, I'm going to IHOP tomorrow and getting a big honking stack of pancakes to celebrate another doomsday missed, but not forgotten. Any of you Rapture folk want to join me, I'm buying. Besides, it's not even 2012 yet!
- Extraordinary Delusions and the Madness of Crowds by Charles MacKay — now available for 99 cents as a Kindle ebook. Like a circus sideshow, you will be amazed and amused, but here it's how dumb people can be enraptured in the ballyhoo of the masses.
- The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind by Gustave Le Bon — written in the 1800s so language and discussion is based on the time period and its events. Still contains valuable insights on "crowd contol."
- How to Be a Charlatan and Make Millions by Jim Williams — ten lessons in cheating, lying, and taking advantage of the gullible to reach the top of the heap.
- Mystics and Messiahs: Cults and New Religions in American History by Philip Jenkins — yeah, what's new is old is new again.
For those disapppointed the world is still here come May 22, get over it.