Let me ask you a question Evans. Because you are reasonable person even in disagreements; Would you agree that Fear is not just something that is made up?
Would you also agree that fear is a cause to act on something instinctive? After all, if there was nothing to fear then it would make itself scarce.
In someways, it's like saying... A guy has a gun to my head and is ready to kill me, but I shouldn't fear it because it's just that persons way of getting me to do something or get my money or something.
True, I could go down with or without a fight, people don't respond in fear if there is no reason to fear. I do not know about 2012, we'll see when we get there but to me, there is something to fear.
Will the world end, I dunno...prolly not... I would fair on the side of prolly not but knowing that billions of people do fear something has my guard up because, like we know, when people are scared they loose a lot of reason. (double understanding implied) when people are scared they loose a lot of reason.