One thing I've been thinking about lately is how across the spectrum of ideologies and beliefs, there seems to be a surprisingly strong belief, coupled with an almost morbid desire for, in the high probability of some catastrophic civilization/world ending ending event happening in our lifetimes.
The Rapture crowd thinks the flaming sword of the baby Jesus is going to destroy the world.
Lefties think catastrophic weather changes as a result of global warming will be seriously damaging, or that resource depletion will make sustaining the current standard of living impossible.
Conservatarian types tend to imagine some major terrorist or event will push our country towards police state/dictatorship or anarchy.
And, of course, the Y2K bug had techies running for the hills, after they pocketed their overtime paychecks.
Now, without passing judgment on the likelihood of any of these events, I find the interesting thing is how much people think, one way or another, that "the end is near" and, more than that, have a morbid desire to see it actually happen. I'm not saying people really want the end of the world to happen, but I think it's the type if thing which would provide the ultimate justification for their particular worldviews.
