But it didn't; and here we are to relive the events that had
captured our heart and mind this 2012. Shocking events, tear-jerking moments,
and amazing scenes that almost passed as a good Roland Emmerich or Michael Bay film. I've laid out the carpet, prepped up the projector and screen, just bring the
popcorn and join me as we look back at a dirty dozen of events that made up
2012.
12. Achievements in Space
A good end of the world film won’t be complete without
astronauts and spaceships. But humankind’s space feats this year weren't suicide missions to deflect an asteroid or comet; these feats were a
continuation of the Space Race which went on a long pause and then restarted.
The United States was unseated as the leader of this race with its retirement
of the Space Shuttle Program. It chose to focus instead in expanding its
exploration of the Red Planet through its Curiosity rover mission which
successfully touched down in Mars in August. However, the true trailblazer in
space exploration this year is China, having successfully launched its Shenzhou
9 spacecraft in June for its first manned space docking mission which included
its first woman in space. Another breakthrough in space exploration came from
the private sector, with the first private space launch by SpaceX in October.
With these new breakthroughs, humankind has breathed new life to the space
race.
The proliferation of human conflict has always been an omen
signifying the end of the world both in the Bible and other non-biblical sources.
But since Neanderthal times, human conflict has been a daily occurrence that
already lost its prophetic significance. Hence, this year marked a series of
conflicts in the Middle East and East Asia brought about by the ripples of last
year’s Arab Spring and China’s increasing military presence in the region.
11. Gaza under Siege
In March and November this year, Israel launched a series of
attacks against Hamas-controlled Gaza. The attack, which was a targeted killing
of suspected militants planning rocket attacks against Israel, created more
harm to civilians and resulted in even more rocket attacks from Gaza. The thing
with Israel is that it’s always been paranoid about its internal security that
even the slightest hint of an attack from Gaza would prompt it to strike back
(and always with a slightly greater force compared to the one exerted by its
counterpart). On the other hand, the thing with Gaza is its myopic view that
Israel is and will always be an enemy of Islam. It cannot move on from the
hardships and struggles of the past, unlike its counterpart, the West Bank,
which had successfully transitioned from a militant to a democratic government
and received recognition (as the State of Palestine) from the UN General
Assembly in November.
10. Rage over Anti-Islam Film
The Arab Spring spawned a new generation of young,
idealistic, technologically-empowered Muslims ready to defend their faith to
the death. Thus, when a group of twisted, spoiled Christians came out with a
YouTube video mocking Islam and the prophet Muhammad, it was Arab Spring once
more. But this time, the Islamic world came for blood resulting in attacks
against various Western embassies and culminating in the much-hyped US Embassy Attacks
in Benghazi, Libya throughout September this year.
9. China vs. Neighbors
With China’s increasing economic, political, and military
might in East Asia, tensions between the Red Dragon and its neighbors also
heightened. It began in April with an incursion by Chinese fishermen in Panatag
(Scarborough) Shoal which resulted in a standoff between the Philippine Navy
and Chinese Marine Surveillance ships. This was eventually followed by
anti-China protests in the Philippines and Vietnam which the Chinese retaliated
by conducting cyberattacks against Philippine government websites, resulting in
a trade of cyberattacks. In July, China raised the status of all its
territories in the South China Sea into a prefecture-level city called Sansha,
angering Vietnam and the Philippines even more. In August, another front in the
conflict was reopened when Chinese activists forced their way into Senkaku
Islands, a territory claimed by China, Taiwan, and Japan. These events resulted
in tensions between China and ASEAN member nations during the 21st
ASEAN Summit in Cambodia in November.
8. Good and Bad Times for Democracy
2012 has been a great year for democracy beginning with the
democratic transition in Myanmar following Aung San Suu Kyi’s release in 2010
and the first free elections held in over 20 years in April. Nations across the
globe touted Myanmar’s democratic transition as a miracle and prompted an
improvement of relations between the country and Western powers. Also in April,
blind Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng escaped from house arrest in China and
fled to the US Embassy in Beijing. Eventually, he was granted a visa to travel
to the US to study and continue his campaign for a democratic transition in
China. Nevertheless, there were setbacks to our democratic way of life as well,
especially on the Internet. Efforts by the US government to pass the SOPA and
PIPA bills in Congress resulted in widespread Internet and street protests in
January. A similar law, the Anti-Cybercrime Law, was passed in the Philippine
Congress and signed by President Benigno Aquino III in October, prompting similar protests and a series of cyberattacks on government websites.
7. Global Economic Recession
An end of the world scenario won’t be complete without an
economic crash. In 2012, the world economy still hasn’t recuperated from the
downturn it went through in 2011. The PIGS (Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Spain) all saw continuous street protests due to austerity measures adopted by their
governments in order to pay sovereign debt as well as bailout measures to save
big business. In the United States,
while strides were made to create more jobs and protect ordinary people from
predatory market practices, many people were still out of jobs. US companies
have begun to shift their operations back to the mainland to benefit their own
people but threatening to put out of work millions of migrant workers in the US
and outsourced workers in Asia. Meanwhile, China, one of the fastest growing
economies in the past decade has shown signs of slowing its GDP for the first
time, while countries like the Philippines and Indonesia have shown promising
economic gains.
6. The London Olympics
We almost forgot that the world was about to end when London marveled us with an Olympic event like no other. From opening to closing, the
2012 London Olympics gave us a glimpse of British culture and history with its
artsy, star-studded performances. We all got a new reason to smile at the
camaraderie, teamwork, and athletic spirit shown by delegates from around the
world, from Serena Williams in tennis to Usain Bolt in athletics. It was a
festive, joyous sporting event to top off a series of milestones beginning with
last year’s Royal Wedding and Queen Elizabeth II’s Jubilee this year.
5. US Shootings
But if there is a nation writhing in pain right now, it’s the
United States of America. This nation is starting to feel the effects the Great
Recession has had on its people. In just a year, 16 fatal shootings occurred in
the US resulting in 88 people dead. Of these shootings, two of the most highly
publicized occurred in Colorado and Connecticut. In July, deranged graduate
student James Holmes (dressed in a Batman costume), opened fire at viewers
inside a theater in Aurora, Colorado, where The Dark Knight Rises was being
shown. On December 14, just a few days before Christmas, Adam Lanza, a 20-year
old with a history of autism and personality disorder, killed his mother at
their home and shot 26 students and teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School in
Newtown, Connecticut. These shootings brought a nation to even more grief even
as they’re still reeling from the effects of Hurricane Sandy and the Great
Recession.
4. Wild, Wild Weather!
Killing sprees have been going on since the time of Cain and
Abel so it’s less likely the world would end in such a way. But the likelihood
of freak weather phenomena bringing an end to our species is something worth
looking into. This year, various parts of the globe continued to experience its
own piece of weird weather. In March up to August, North America suffered its
worst drought in decades resulting in massive crop failures, wildfires, and
heat strokes. In November, Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc in the East Coast
destroying much of the states of New Jersey and New York and exposing modern
New Yorkers to the horrors of flooding, blackouts, and mass evacuation for the
first time. In the Philippines, history repeated itself with round-the-clock
monsoon rains triggering metro-wide floods in August much like what happened in
2009 during Typhoon Ketsana (Ondoy). This December, supertyphoon Bopha (Pablo)
caused devastation in the island of Mindanao, beating the destruction and loss
of life caused by last year’s Typhoon Washi (Sendong).
3. Syrian Civil War
As the rest of the Arab Spring nations bask in their
successful transition to their new governments, the success of the revolution
has been very much delayed in Syria. Throughout the early to the middle part of
2012, it looked as if this conflict would turn out to be a war of attrition
wherein both sides would each claim victory and without much shift in the
territories they hold. However, as the West began to increase more pressure on
President Bashar Al-Assad’s regime through neighbors Turkey and Jordan, and
by providing some calculated support to the rebels, it looks like the tide is
turning in favor of the revolution. Just this December, Russia has admitted
that its ally might be on the losing end of the war. This conflict has gone on
too long and the only peace the Syrian people can get right now is for the rebels
to finally declare victory and start the long and arduous transition to
democracy.
2. Gangnam Style
Who says the end of the world shouldn't have comic
characters?
In 2012, we saw the rise of Korean pop singer Psy and his
YouTube video “Gangnam Style”, the first ever YouTube video to reach a billion
views. While we barely understand a word from his song, the catchy melody and
dance steps has captivated viewers from around the world and created a fever
both in an out of the World Wide Web. It is perhaps the climactic episode in
this Korean Wave that has swept the world, giving us a bittersweet experience
of Korean culture, history, and art. As we do the goofy, horse-riding step in
this dance craze, we are given a temporary escape from all conflicts and
problems we all faced this year. And it seemed as if maybe, just maybe, the
world won’t come to an end.
1. Four More Years: The US Presidential Elections
The US Presidential Elections is the cherry to top this dozen
of events that shook the world in 2012. After all, it was the most trending and
most followed news event not just in the US but around the world. We followed
the debates on TV, we tweeted and made status updates about our opinions and
views about the candidates, and created memes about each contender before and
after the vote. We all cringed in our seats when Clint Eastwood went talking to
an empty chair. We braced ourselves as the votes came in one state at a time on
November 6. We all went mushy during that historic moment when Barack hugged
Michelle on national TV and thanked her for being with him throughout the
campaign. It was the election that exposed the divisions in American society
ever more so, but it was the victory that united it as well. We may never admit
it, but as a de facto US state, we Filipinos have been moved by all of it even
so.
A world without end: this is what we should realize after what had
transpired throughout 2012. It just keeps going and going, fueled by the perpetual
force of change. As long as we keep on believing that our world has no end, humankind
will never have a shortage of metaphors to live by each day. No matter what
happens in years to come—whether fire or ice, war and peace, right or wrong—if
we all remain strong and stick together as one community united by our common
good values, humankind will always wake up to another day ready to face future
that lies before them. TSS
“What the caterpillar calls the end of the world the master
calls a butterfly.”
~ Richard Bach
Happy New Year Everyone!
