2012 will be a very interesting year. The United States will have a Presidential election. Across the world, elections will also be held in France, Mexico, and Ireland. The Freedom Tower will be completed in New York. The Summer Olympic games will be held in London, England. NASA's new Orion spacecraft is scheduled for completion and will begin to support missions to the International Space Station.

However, for many people, the most anticipated and promoted event in 2012 will be the end of the world as we know it. Indeed, the end of the world crowd from Y2K is coming back. Since everyone survived the start of this millennium without incident, they have now recalibrated their end of time apocalypse clocks to a new date of 12/21/2012. This new apocalypse date coincides with the end of the ancient Mayan long count calendar. The Mayan calendar, which spans more than 5,000 years, comes to an end on December 21, 2012.

The significance of the end of the Mayan calendar has been the subject of an increasing number of books in the last several months. It has even been featured on several programs on the History Channel as well. In general, there is a difference of opinion on what happens on 12/21/2012. Some think it is a day for the destruction of the planet Earth and human life. Others believe that we are in for an unprecedented spiritual awakening. Some predict a global financial meltdown. To others, an asteroid is the harbinger of doom. New sites appear almost daily on the Internet to promote all these unfortunate outcomes to the world.

In addition, new books on the subject arrive every month at local bookstores. Journalist Lawrence Joseph forecasts widespread catastrophe in "Apocalypse 2012: A Scientific Investigation Into Civilization's End". Spiritual healer Andrew Smith predicts a restoration of a "true balance between Divine Feminine and Masculine" in "The Revolution of 2012: Vol. 1, The Preparation". In 2012, Daniel Pinchbeck anticipates a "change in the nature of consciousness," assisted by indigenous insights and psychedelic drug use. His book,"2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl" has a print run designed to sell more than 40,000 copies.

The end of the Mayan calendar is said to coincide with a galactic alignment in which the Sun will align with the center of the Milky Way galaxy. It is said that this rare event occurs once every 26,000 years and some predict it could have potentially catastrophic consequences. The theory goes that on the day of the winter solstice in 2012, the Sun will be aligned with the center of the Milky Way . This alignment could mean that energy which typically streams to Earth from the center of the Milky Way will be disrupted on 12/21/12 at 11:11 p.m. Universal Time.

Some people argue that this disruption has the potential to create a shift in the Earth's poles, which would cause disastrous environmental events. There is also the possibility that the effects will alter the magnetic polarity of the Sun. In combination with gravitational forces from the simultaneous alignment of other planets, this result might cause massive solar flares, and could even move the axis of the Earth.

It all sounds really bad, doesn't it? It's meant to. Of course it is all hype and nonsense. The ancient Mayan calendar ends but resets and starts over. The truth is that Mayans gave up their original calendar hundreds of years ago and use modern calendars now. The Mayans discovered that modern calendars were better able to keep track of their annual holidays.

In fact the Mayan calendar is not used by anyone today and is irrelevant. There is no factual relationship to the end of the Mayan calendar and the end of time. The Sun does not approach the center of the Milky Way to closer than about 5 degrees, and that happens not on 21 December but around 18 December, and not just in 2012 but in every year.

All the stories, science, and prophesies are fiction to hype the date. The hype of the date provides publicity to peddle books, merchandise, survival gear, and television programs. The History Channel appears so desperate for viewers and ratings that it has started its end of the Mayan calendar hype nearly five years in advance. We have seen this already in the years leading up to the start of this millennium. Now we can expect it again in the next few years leading up to 12/21/2012.

The formula of the end of the world doomsday prophecy is always the same. It originates from ancient times. Its basis surrounds a certain date or time period in the future. There is always some special insight beyond advanced modern science about how things really work. There are historically vague embellished coincidences that lead people to believe there is a solid basis for these future doomsday prognostications. It is all designed to play on our fear. The facts are created using smoke and mirrors. Like any scam, the real intention is to separate us from the dollars in our wallets.

Of course, the reality is that the there should be one basic goal for all of us in the next few years. That goal is to survive the huckster's hype of a world apocalypse due to the end of the Mayan calendar on December 21, 2012. Indeed, the apocalypse crowd from the turn of this century is coming back with a brand new date to hype. We can send them away by keeping our money out of their sight.

James William Smith has worked in senior management positions for some of the largest financial services firms in the United States for the last twenty five years. He has also provided business consulting support for insurance organizations and start up businesses. Mr. Smith has a Bachelor of Science Degree from Boston College. He enjoys writing articles on political, national, and world events. Visit his website at http://www.eworldvu.com