Today is an ominous day in terms of symbolism. It is the 6th day of the 6th month of the 6th year after the second millenia. 6/6/06 indeed has a plethora of symbolism associated with it. For Christians, this number rings a scary bell, for this is the mark of the beast mentioned in the book of Revelations or more popularly known as the number of the Antichrist. Supposedly, nothing in Revelations should be taken literally; (there are verses depicting a red dragon with seven heads, a beast with ten horns and a leopard that had feet of a bear and a mouth of a lion) because it would certainly not be a realistic doomsday scenario, but would look like a movie produced by overly-creative graphic artists that would rival adventure/fantasy flicks such as Lord of the Rings and Narnia. But as it is with human nature and idleness, various events are associated with symbols and abstract contexts. One good example, is this phenomenon called the "Da Vinci Code". This much-hyped but pathetically disappointing movie is the brainchild of infamous fiction author Dan Brown. The story is riddled with misinterpreted symbols and inaccurate historical reviews. Now, I don’t want to be another critic of Dan Brown proclaiming his work as blasphemous ‘coz its already very much nauseating. I just want to point out the unlimited creativity of the human mind when stimulated with symbolisms. It is amazing how the human mind can correlate a certain symbol to an event. In fact, this is what fictional writers are constantly developing: their imagination. Of course, the end-product of this imaginative odyssey offers a great read. But it should only be utilized as such form of entertainment and not as a basis of principle and spirituality, for when critically examined, an expert can almost certainly find an error in every angle. I want to get back to my topic because I’m sounding like a Dan Brown-critic already. The symbolic sequence of numbers of the date today is seen as a sign of misfortune or bad omen in the Western world. (or the "early Christians" - this includes North Americans, British, and the Europeans because they were among the first to be Christianized, however today it is more of an irony because their culture is starting to accept double-standards in their faiths, resulting to empty pews in their magnificently built Churches.) Today is such an ominous day for Americans that CNN reported a certain mother who induced her labor yesterday just to prevent her son from getting a 666 date for a birthday. People are so afraid of being associated with anything evil, but are unaware of their own shortcomings and notoriety. Anyway, I was really amazed of the mother’s decision, that she would do something like that. To think that her baby’s life could have been affected. Her actions were certainly drastic even close to desperate. I also saw the trailer for the remake of "The Omen". This movie is about the birth of the Antichrist and Armageddon and had four sequels in the past. The movie could not have been timed more perfectly as the producers decided to release it on this ominous day in this side of the world. As I switched to another channel, I came across the daily evening news of Channel News Asia (Singapore). What an irony indeed! In the other side of the world, people are scrambling to get married to the extent that mass weddings were held. Everybody was rushing to get married in Taiwan, Hongkong and some parts of China. The Chinese view the number 6 as a lucky number and so a date that offers a triple 6 offers more-than-usual luck, happiness and wealth. What a contrast indeed. For such simple symbols as numbers, there are differing even contrasting interpretations for different kinds of people. As I turned off the TV, I realized that in this world, there simply is no clear line between the good and the evil. The protagonist and the antagonist. The Pro’s and the Con’s. The Left and the Right. There’s always two sides in a story. Two sides in an argument. Two sides in life. It all depends on your perspective. It all depends on where you’re standing. And most importantly, it all depends on what you believe in. For at the end of the day, we are all the same, we are all humans, we are all imperfect — erring, naive and arrogant. So choose your side…
