When the Dark Comes

I read an article today that listed some of this years best inventions. A wine-tasting robot, a machine for making edible coffee, a shirt that can replicate a hug - all the fripperies of a prosperous, bloated society. And many believe that we will continue to build on and progress from here ad infinitum (at least, until the male Y chromosome dies out around 126,000 AD). Heavens, what a future. But I don't think it will happen. Those clappy-happy optimists that label themselves progressionists have obviously never read any history books. Or none of substance, anyway. If they did happen to attempt this feat, they would begin to notice patterns. An empire rises through hard work, cunning, and good principles. Then when affluence becomes widespread and the morals of the past are no longer respected or considered necessary, the rot sets in. A little while later, the barbarians arrive. They have that virility which the empire surrendered, and consequently make short work of the inebriated, geriatric nation - tearing it apart like wild dogs bringing down a sick wildebeest. A Dark Age ensues. The cycle begins again. Where are we on that timeline now? That's right - we're currently rotting. And the barbarians, while not yet pounding on the door, are beginning to gather. Our petty world of iPods and celebrities and obesity problems will not last forever. One day, perhaps sooner than we expect, it will all come crashing down like the great World Trade Center. Are we ready? No we're not. No nation has ever been ready for the Dark. That's why it overtook them in the first place. But there is another more useful, more pressing question to be asked: Are you ready?