There is an enduring appeal about the end of the world, especially if we can watch it happening to someone else. Movies that dwell on an apocalyptic or post-apocalyptic theme are even more the rage than usual, but in the last year or so there have been warnings sounded about the end of the world, or at least the end of the world as we know it.

There are certainly plenty of candidates; to many, the Brexit vote portends the breakup of the EU. The candidacy of Hillary Clinton versus the embodiment of chaos found in Donald Trump inspires little comfort. I recently noted a comment on a blog asking which is worse. Answer, they are both worse. Stop and reflect for a moment that both major parties picked the worst possible candidate from their respective field of contenders. We always seem to see the end of the world in externals; space aliens, asteroids, radioactive Tele-tubbies, but less often do we really acknowledge our own unique contributions.

Meanwhile, the Middle East is aflame, globalization is blamed (probably rightly) for inducing instability, our government seems to be doing all it can to piss off Vladimir Putin (who has nukes) and, hovering like an unholy pestilence over the whole scene is the specter of global warming, which might just be the very apocalyptic scenario that puts civilization down for the count, although plenty of people will point to acceptance of gay marriage, raising the minimum wage, or an African American in the White House as evidence of pending cosmic doom.

You have to take note when so many people not only look for the end of the world, but are positively giddy about it. They want to level the playing field, or have the opportunity to see someone they hate “get theirs.” But it usually doesn’t work that way. The End-timers at Qumran looked for the destruction of Jerusalem and all the spiritual corruption that went with it, and eagerly awaited its demise. Problem is that Jerusalem was eventually destroyed by the Xth Roman Legion–not long after they destroyed the settlement at Qumran. Most of the time, however, nothing happens. The expected Day comes and goes with no change. Many of the Millerites who went through “The Great Disappointment” in 1844 as it came to be called who simply wrote the whole thing off as a bad idea lapsed into insanity and profound depression.

Full disclosure: I am a “prepper” of sorts, but I don’t hoard guns and ammo or the like. I collect books, since I tend to view the decline of civilization in terms of cultural loss and a disdain for knowledge and artistic excellence. I believe reconstruction would entail relearning what was forgotten, a la Bradbury’s “book people” in Fahrenheit 451.

But what many don’t understand is that epic change seldom announces itself so clearly. It’s only much later when historians can point to some event or set of events and say, “There. That’s when it all started to go downhill.” Another thing non-historians don’t understand is that a civilization can “fall” without crashing and burning. Most of the time, decay happens slowly, lazily. Given a choice between a bang and a whimper, most civilizations opt for the latter. When did Babylonian civilization die out? The last known cuneiform tablet was written around 70 CE, but there was no thunder, no demolition, no great disturbance in the Force to mark its passing. And yet that was a true death; no living culture survived. There is no such thing as “modern Babylonian” the way there is modern Greek or Hebrew, or a linguistic descendant as Italian grew from Latin. It became a truly dead civilization and would have remained all but forgotten except for the efforts of scholars and archaeologists to try and reconstruct what they could.

The truth is, the world ends every day; just ask Heraclitus. Yes, I fear that we are on a downward trajectory, and that historians of the future (if any) will shake their heads at what a hot, steaming mess we made of things. But the end? It will happen, but you probably won’t recognize it when it happens. It will probably look just like things are now, only just a little moreso.