If you’ve got money and time, you might be headed to Texas to see the scientific marvel of a lifetime: a total solar eclipse, slowly traversing a narrow path across the U.S. Monday, stretching from Texas to Maine.
Cities and small towns across Texas have been bracing for visitors for weeks, telling locals to stay home and even stock up on food and water just in case there’s a shortage of supplies.
Currently, the weather forecast predicts some clouds and rain that could dash the hopes of visitors and Texans alike, hoping to see the once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon, where the moon passes between the earth and the Sun, obscuring it.
But it hasn’t been all preparation and excitement.
Yes, you need eclipse glasses:What happens if you look at the solar eclipse? It's as eye-damaging as it is eye-catching.
For some reason, events like this also beckon wild ideas and crazy conspiracies. One swirling around the internet, gaining attention on social media platforms, is that the eclipse will bring on a massive human sacrifice. The earthquake in New York City Friday didn’t help quell these kinds of far-fetched predictions.
The eclipse has also fueled the ideas of conspiracy theorists, theologians’ theories of eschatology, and climate-change fanatics. “Far-right conspiracy theorists are claiming that “elites” will use the eclipse to control humanity, sway the presidential election, and everything else under the sun,” a WIRED headline read.
Only in America could a total solar eclipse usher in the apocalypse and simultaneously influence an election.
Almost every generation believes they are living in the end of days. Maybe we are. Maybe we aren’t. Either way, there’s no way to know if we are barreling into Armageddon or just might experience a blackened sky for a moment, although the latter seems 99.9% the most likely scenario. We know for certain we don’t know the certain future.
A moment to enjoy:What's so special about the solar eclipse? You have to see it to believe it.
This is the root of the chaos and concern: The rarity and almost inconceivable nature of events like a total solar eclipse leaves human beings feeling small, helpless and slightly afraid of the unknown. Without the sun, our only source of natural light, heat and energy, could something bad happen? If so, what? Could we handle it? Are we prepared? We suddenly realize we aren’t in control of everything. This is why some people start grasping at crazy theories and apocalypse scenarios.
It's a good thing for us as a species to remember how small and powerless we are against nature and the divine. In an era where Elon Musk has internet satellites in space and we have so many advanced technologies to help us take advantage of time and resources, there is also one thing we do not have control over – time and nature.
If you, like me, just share the view that God created the world because a world created ex nihilo sounds even more implausible than the Big Bang, a total solar eclipse happening once in your vapor of a lifetime is just a stunning, incredible experience.
A gift of common grace to be alive for and to enjoy and marvel. (Imagine the generations before us in more primitive times who had no advanced technology to warn us or explain what this is.)
We might control our jobs, sleep, diets, entertainment, kids, spouses, vacations and politics, but we don’t control the things that make our world possible. This is a frightening, humbling and spectacular truth.
Nicole Russell is an opinion columnist for USA TODAY. She lives in Texas with her four kids.
Are you excited for the solar eclipse? I am, even if it is scary.
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06.04.2024
If you’ve got money and time, you might be headed to Texas to see the scientific marvel of a lifetime: a total solar eclipse, slowly traversing a narrow path across the U.S. Monday, stretching from Texas to Maine.
Cities and small towns across Texas have been bracing for visitors for weeks, telling locals to stay home and even stock up on food and water just in case there’s a shortage of supplies.
Currently, the weather forecast predicts some clouds and rain that could dash the hopes of visitors and Texans alike, hoping to see the once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon, where the moon passes between the earth and the Sun, obscuring it.
But it hasn’t been all preparation and excitement.
Yes, you need eclipse glasses:What happens if you look at the solar eclipse? It's as eye-damaging as it is eye-catching.
For some reason, events like this also beckon wild ideas........
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