Now, it seems, what the Mayans were really predicting was the dawn of a new era of peace and harmony. One Auckland woman was quoted last week as saying that whenever there is a worldwide collective focus of people like there was on Friday (should have been Saturday - the Mayans were a day behind us, although maybe this cataclysmic event was Fridayised so as not to ruin the weekend), something really powerful can happen. (That hasn't been the writer's experience on the first Tuesday in November.)
Instead of facing extinction, she said, safe in the knowledge that the deadline had been and gone, she believed the date signalled the beginning of a new epoch in which people would become more connected. We were now connected by a great global brain - no, not Russell Norman, but the internet. We were now talking to one another like we never could before, and it was time for a positive change.
She got the last bit right, but whoever buys the preamble should lay off the brandied cherries for a while. The thought that anyone could liken the internet to a great global brain is truly frightening, particularly if this woman has any political ambitions. While we might be talking to one another more than we did in the days when the Post Office was our only link with the world beyond walking distance, what exactly are we saying?
The internet has given every fruit loop with the ability to two-finger type the power to foist their ridiculous theories - and more worryingly, their vitriol - upon whoever cares to read them, generally anonymously. That's the important bit.
Pre-internet, people who said something worth listening to generally put their names to it. And they still do. The great majority, though, especially those who have nothing intelligent or constructive to say, now yabber away anonymously. The internet phenomenon has proved a couple of things - there are some spiteful people out there, and whatever's gone wrong with our education system isn't new.
Others, meanwhile, reckon that the somehow significant date of 21/12/12 signalled the rise of the woman, who is now about to take over and show us all just where men have gone wrong all these millennia. One stands to be corrected, but haven't we in New Zealand already tried that? Perhaps the nine long Helen Clark years were the precursor to a golden age, but that seems unlikely.
Whatever happens, there is cause to hope that 2013 will be a little kinder to the very Far North than 2012 has been. The latter stages particularly have been traumatic, an unwelcome spotlight firmly shining on Kaitaia thanks to a string of arrests for sex offending, some admitted, some still no more than allegations. We've also seen what the police claim was the smashing of a major methamphetamine manufacturing enterprise, an outcome of what was patently a long, patient investigation which is to be applauded, but instead seems to be tearing a rural community apart.
On the one hand, it seems, are the majority who might have suspected something was afoot but had no direct knowledge of it, and who abhor any form of drug trafficking. On the other is a minority, directly involved or not, who are accusing some of the majority of 'narking' on those who have come to police attention, and have presumably abandoned their right to loudly protest their innocence.
No one is saying much publicly at this stage, which is hardly surprising, but whatever happens with the criminal proceedings now under way, isn't it interesting how methamphetamine has wormed its way into our everyday world? It's not that long ago that people were calling public meetings in Kaitaia to earnestly discuss how their children might be protected from this pernicious substance. Parliament responded by giving judges the power to jail those involved in manufacturing or dealing methamphetamine for life, but the panic now seems to be over.
Alleged manufacturers on an industrial scale are arrested and their supporters come out swinging on their behalf. How's that for the new morality? The supporters of a local man who faces numerous drug charges, and was denied bail last week, stormed out of the courthouse in a state of high dudgeon, clearly unimpressed with the judge's reasoning. Another symptom. Meth has become a misdemeanour.
When it comes to crime, worms don't turn very often, but hopefully this one will in Kaitaia in the coming year. Let us hope that in 2013 the people of this community will make it clear that they do not accept the depredations of the criminals amongst them. Let us rejoice that the police are bringing criminals to account, and really are making this community a safer one.
If this really is the beginning of a new epoch, let it be one in which we are less tolerant of those whose actions hurt us, less tolerant of those who are supposed to serve us but do not, and less tolerant of those who make excuses when they should be accepting responsibility. Let it be an era in which we give our kids the chances they need, and deserve, to become the best they can be rather than letting the state bring them up.
Let it be a time when we make no secret of our expectation that everyone in this community will make an effort on their own behalf, but not be slow to offer support and assistance when it really is needed.
And never forget that the Far North is home to some wonderful people. Like those who quietly, without fuss, gave so generously to the Northland Age Christmas tree over recent weeks. No big deal perhaps, but there are many people who are happy to do what they can to make a special time of year a little more special for some who would otherwise miss out.
The year now ending hasn't been the flashest for a lot of people, often for reasons far beyond their control, but we're still more blessed than most. Look back on 2012 for the good things it brought, and look forward to 2013 in the hope that it too will give cause for celebration, and opportunities for us all to be healthy, wealthy and wise.
Happy New Year.
