Wow. I’m hot and grumpy and breathing the smoky air (from all the wildfires in B.C.). British Columbia was deemed yesterday to have the worst air quality in the entire world. I mourn our lovely sea air that is currently full of particulates from all the wildfires currently burning. But if we’re hot and smoked out, I sure feel for all those up country who are in the midst of the inferno, especially the firefighters – they must be super-human to withstand the heat, the smoke, the physical demands, the seemingly endless, merciless, ongoing, long-lasting ferocious flames. It’s also very sad to see people displaced, frightened and grieving their losses. And the animals - the poor animals.
I’m hearing sirens all day long here in the city and it’s scary. Of course, I live down the street from the fire station so maybe it goes with the territory but it sure adds to the sense of impending doom.
Here’s some info about our air quality right now {{cough}} {{cough}}:
https://bc.ctvnews.ca/vancouver-air-quality-ranked-worst-of-world-s-major-cities-drone-video-shows-smoky-skies-1.5546557“Smoky skies blocked out Vancouver's mountain views on Friday as residents of the region experienced the worst air quality of all major cities in the world.”
https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/local-news/this-interactive-map-shows-vancouver-has-the-worst-air-quality-in-the-world-right-now-map-4222000“Metro Vancouver issued an Air Quality Advisory for the region and the Fraser Valley Friday (Aug. 13) morning stating that high concentrations of fine particulate matter are expected over the next few days.
“The advisory notes that outflow winds are bringing the smoke into the region, which is contributing "to elevated fine particulate matter concentrations and hazy skies."
“And as of 4:45 p.m. Friday, the IQAir interactive air quality map ranks Vancouver as the worst major city in the world for air quality.
“The company notes that the "PM2.5 concentration in Vancouver BC air is currently 10 times above WHO exposure recommendation" and that people should close their windows, wear masks, use air purifiers, and avoid outdoor exercise.
“Vancouver has a US AQI of 179 or "Unhealthy." This ranking is matched only by Riyadh in Saudi Arabia.”
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Yesterday the Lions Gate Bridge (a major structure in the city) wasn't visible in all the smoke. Nor were the mountains. I have a terrible sense of direction and if I can't see the mountains I don't know which way is north. Could be a serious handicap. We don't even have any fires nearby - this is all just smoke from all those up country. Extreme!
Between the fires, news of uprisings and wars old and new, vast injustices worldwide and, of course, the all-encompassing crazy little virus that has upended the world, the word ‘Armageddon’ has popped into my head recently with some regularity.
I joined the JWs as a teenager via a friend. Their theology of out with the old and in with the new appealed to me. Who doesn’t want a do-over to achieve world peace I thought, simplistically.
From Wiki:
"Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Armageddon is the means by which God will fulfill his purpose for the Earth to be populated with happy healthy humans who will be free from sin and death. They teach that the armies of heaven will eradicate all who oppose the Kingdom of God, wiping out all wicked humans on Earth, only leaving righteous mankind."
This is the message I heard as a timid unschooled teenager. It greatly appealed to my clueless idealistic mind. I liked simple. I liked love. I liked peace. What’s not to love about a message that appears to be all peace and harmony? (The reality, of course, can’t live up).
Then there’s this - Wiki:
“Jehovah's Witnesses teach that the armies of heaven, led by Jesus, will then destroy all forms of human government and then Jesus, along with a selected 144,000 humans, will rule Earth for 1,000 years. …”
So, big war. Worse than all the human-caused ones we have and are and undoubtedly will endure.
Of course, other religions have their own take on End Times. This article is interesting in its simple descriptions of the basic beliefs of the world’s major religions as they relate to current events.
NY Times, April 6, 2020:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/02/us/coronavirus-apocalypse-religion.htmlExcerpts (including Mormonism - I had forgotten about Moroni losing his trumpet):
“For people of many faiths, and even none at all, it can feel lately like the end of the world is near. Not only is there a plague, but hundreds of billions of locusts are swarming East Africa. Wildfires have ravaged Australia, killing an untold number of animals. A recent earthquake in Utah even shook the Salt Lake Temple to the top of its iconic spire, causing the golden trumpet to fall from the angel Moroni’s right hand.
“But the story of apocalypse is an old one, one of the oldest humans tell. In ancient religious traditions beyond Christianity — including Judaism, Islam and Buddhism — it is a common narrative that arises in moments of social and political crisis, as people try to process unprecedented or shocking events.”
"David Jeremiah, a[n evangelical] pastor, asked in a sermon recently if the coronavirus was biblical prophecy, and called the pandemic “the most apocalyptic thing that has ever happened to us.”
“Among Christians, one of the most well-known apocalyptic narratives is the Book of Revelation in the New Testament, which tells the story of the defeat of an evil beast, a final divine judgment and the coming of a New Jerusalem.
“While many biblical scholars read the book as a story about the destruction of corrupt political systems, many evangelical Christians believe it describes the rapture, Jesus’ return to save believers from a period of tribulation.
“In the United States, where Christianity is by far the dominant religion, about 40 percent of American adults believe that Jesus is definitely or probably going to return to earth by 2050, including one in five religiously unaffiliated people, according to the Pew Research Center.
“Some evangelical Christians are finding hope in a divine promise that God has saved them for eternity, a feeling of security in the midst of so much uncertainty.
"A stark, binary structure — a clear good and evil, a clear before and after — appeals when society is fractured, said Dr. Hidalgo, the religion professor from Williams.
“Apocalypse is a flexible script,” she said. “A sense of shared external evil can really bring folks together.”
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I don’t believe any more in these takes on Armageddon but the word is sure useful to sum up these times, it seems. You’d think with all our accumulated knowledge and experience and our vast capacity for achievement we could collectively make positive and lasting change that benefits everyone. Seems beyond us though. After all the centuries how far have we come?
Meanwhile, whatever, I’m going to brave the air, out and about at the farmer’s market today. Still gotta eat. Sometimes all you can do is take it one day at a time. And keep hoping for miracles, I guess, from whichever source, human or divine. Because this movie gets old. Especially, I'm sure, for all those caught up in the immediacy of whichever crisis they're facing. We're only hearing and reading about them all. That's daunting enough.
I just heard the 9th siren of the morning thus far. I'd update my go-bag but where is there to go? From Vancouver to all points east and north it's all smoke and fire and closed highways. The latter actually scares me the most. Just the thought of highways being inaccessible activates my incipient claustrophobia. Not to mention confusing my lifelong already shaky sense of direction. It all feels kind of squishy and scrunchy and scary. And worse for others, absolutely. I'm likely in one of the best locations in the province at the moment in view of what all is going on.
How this all relates to Mormonism is, in my view, that I can see it would be somewhat easy to escape to the familiar in times of crisis. Not my familiar because I was never deeply into Mormonism. I've learned more about it from RfM than I ever did from Mormon missionaries or those appallingly boring Mormon meetings. But it did pop that trigger word Armageddon into my head this week. Then all the JW stuff comes flooding back. I can predict what the leaders are saying at all their meetings. If not for the pandemic they'd for sure all be knocking on our days to give us the "urgent" message of the end of the world. It was "urgent" when I was in high school. And that wasn't yesterday. :)
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/14/2021 02:15PM by Nightingale.