Has anyone else been intrigued with the entertainment industry’s preoccupation with disaster films and made-for-TV movies over the last 18 to 24 months? The past couple of summers have focused on disaster films and TV mini-series (Twister, Asteroid, Volcano, Dante’s Peak, Titanic, Deep Impact, Armageddon, etc.).Hollywood appears to have capitalized on the fear and fascination that the masses have of impending doom or judgment. It seems an almost intrinsic quality in human nature, fed by special effects more realistic than could be imagined a few years ago. Strangely, the natural-disaster movies all seem to convey some hope (perhaps falsely so) that humans can escape ultimate destruction through sheer determination and technology.

In light of the parallels of our time and the unavoidable “impact” of Y2K, I wonder if this trend could be subconsciously related to the millennium, or simply coincidental? It is almost as though the minds of the masses are being prepared for real-world events and “Acts of God” in our near future.Second, as impossible as the reality of Y2K seems to many (most?), I find it similarly impossible to believe that this event caught our government entirely by surprise. As any serious student of history recognizes, there is plenty of precedent where prior knowledge of a disastrous event was kept secret in order to accomplish a hidden agenda---Pearl Harbor, for example—and many other “revolutions” around the world.

I realize that this touches on the sensitive issue of “conspiracy” but it is simply a fact of life that governments and organizations have agendas that are sometimes kept hidden from public view. Is that really hard to believe?  If you will permit me to use a fictional account from the movie Deep Impact, the government knew for at least a year or two in advance that a comet was going to intersect the earth’s orbit and collide, causing an extinction-level impact capable of killing all life on the planet.  This was nothing less than a catastrophe of “Biblical proportions!” Did they leak this to the press? No, they sat on it while they developed a plan. After all, there was no reason to cause public panic over something that was catastrophic and unavoidable.In this fictional account, the government did a wise thing. They developed two plans, one offensive and one defensive. The first was to fix the problem by blowing up the comet with a nuclear device, carried on a space ship called “Messiah” (interesting Biblical parallel, since it was the Messiah Jesus Christ who came to provide salvation to the world 2,000 years ago). The second was a contingency plan, in case the first plan failed. In another interesting Biblical parallel, this plan called for storing enough food, water, and materials to supply a diversified workforce of thousands in an huge underground stronghold called “the Ark.” The government’s goal was to repopulate the world after surviving underground for 2 years. In accordance with the Ark of the Bible that spared just 8 people to repopulate the earth, this “Ark” was also filled with animals and treasures of every kind.

With that plot as a background, is it all that difficult to believe that certain powers in our government have devised a contingency plan for Y2K? If, like the fictional approaching comet (or asteroid, in other accounts), the computer date-field collision could be clearly seen at least a decade ago, isn’t it strange that our president just now came out in the public and naively ordered all systems fixed by March 1999 (an impossible goal)? Of course, this is absurd! By starting too late, the powers that be can ensure the implementation of their contingency plan.

If this sounds too far-fetched, remember Pearl Harbor, when signals from the Japanese were received “too late” to save the lives of servicemen and citizens? This is not a new concept, but an ancient one repeated over and over in the course of history to further the cause of powerful men and nations.Given the record of time, therefore, is it not conceivable that the powers that be have already crafted and stand prepared with a contingency plan to help the nation “recover” from the Y2K disaster?  Could this recovery plan take society a quantum leap towards the “New World Order,” using chaos to establish policies (all in the name of peace and prosperity) that the masses would otherwise not accept?

Even leading historians and economists recognize the fact that governments around the world have manufactured crises in order to create change. It’s a secret of nearly every planned revolution and terrorist act the world has ever known. If Y2K is indeed a catastrophe, the people will want and/or need a “savior,” which usually comes in the form of a greater government control through “relief” programs.  For example, what great socialist program began to strangle America after the last Great Depression? You got it—Social Security! This program actually has made more people insecure than ever, and more dependent upon the government.

Do I believe there is an evil conspiracy behind our government’s lateness and seeming ineptness? Not necessarily. Given the benefit of the doubt, our government has and is simply acting in the “best interest” of the people. After all, it felt that it was in our “best interest” to get involved in the World Wars and the Asian wars (even if the facts of provocation were not represented quite accurately at the time).

Whether or not the seriousness and urgency of Y2K was reported on years ago and then sat on, we may never know. Regardless, however, it appears as though the crisis will nicely position the government to exert unprecedented power and control over the American people. The elite unified powers in our land believe that they know what is best for us, and they simply seek the opportunity to provide that service to us.

In closing, the final irony lies in contrasting the birth of our nation with its possible approaching death (not the end of civilization—just the end of our great, free nation): The Pilgrims fled and fought a tyrannical government for freedom, exchanging their lives and personal riches for religious liberty. Today, the American people are in the process of exchanging that same liberty for false security and financial “freedom” under an increasingly tyrannical rule.

The poor, helpless, American people. Prepare for our independence and freedoms to topple in exchange for a loaf of bread and a national I.D.  card. Like the magical effect of movies upon our minds, the impending Y2K catastrophe could indeed leave a DEEP—and lasting—IMPACT!