My daughter had been humming this song the other day, I asked her what it was. She told me it was about the end of the world. Turns out, ‘Chasing The Sun’ by a group called The Wanted does indeed have some ‘ambiguous’ lyrics:

‘They said this day wouldn’t come
We refused to run
We’ve only just begun
You’ll find us chasing the sun’

An ode to hitting the reset button that reboots civilization.

We are enamored by the end times.

Television shows like, ‘The Walking Dead’ and ‘Revolution’ along with take your pick post-apocalyptic escapist fantasy YA lit is proof positive that we can’t get enough of it.

One of the reasons people could be drawn to it is the lack of responsibility. There is something highly attractive about a world where you no longer have to worry about those bills, your credit rating and following rules. You aren’t driven by the idea that your 401k just tanked or fighting for that great spot at Costco.

Any romantic notions you may have had about living an adventurous, unencumbered, freewheeling lifestyle after society collapses abruptly disappear the first time you have to sh!t in the woods with no more toilet paper available.

For me, I like post-Apocalyptic fiction that focuses on the absence of people. Empty cities, wilderness, etc. I’m in it for the misanthropy. Appreciating the scope of human accomplishments, like the feats of engineering that go into building a city., but wouldn’t it be great without all those annoying, stupid humans. Getting to see the stars again at night would be a plus too.

I also find myself drawn to post-apocalyptic stories for a similar reason I’m drawn to science fiction and fantasy: the setting itself allows for the dramatization of internal struggles through external ones, as well as the lateralization of symbols and concepts. Modern civilization doesn’t easily create a setting for those kinds of stories, for which I am thankful. We can enjoy the setting itself for what it has to offer without actively desiring to live in such a setting.

However, it kind of depends on the setting errr apocalypse, doesn’t it? The kind where you’re the last human on earth and you get to drive ALL the sports cars, sure! But the bright future of The Road, not so much.

I’m not saying the ‘Post Apocalypse’ would be better. I’m saying there’s a part of us that feels like it might be better. It’s not a part that thinks things through very far.

Everyone thinks they would be the one to survive the ‘plague/war/end times event’. No one ever imagines being the person getting torn apart by zombies. I guess we’re all too smart (or immune) for that, right?

Personally, I don’t think its a matter of wanting the apocalypse as much as having a sort of envy for people who have a clear purpose; who know what they want to achieve and have a plan to achieve it, without all the distractions of modern life and corporate culture, which tears us in every direction except the most logical one.

Saying that the rise in popularity of a broken down society says that collectively we feel we need to start over, that there is no hope unless we hit the reset button. We need to remember what is important, and get back to basics.

Yeah, whatever gets the traffic moving faster.

-Dagobot
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