It's been said that there's a certain narcissism in thinking you live in the end times.
Are your problems really so much worse than those of every previous generation? Does that imply that you're tougher than all of your ancestors, because you've endured this long? What makes your lifetime to significant?
And who better to answer questions about narcissism than a reality star?
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Brent Sr., the patriach on National Geographic Channel's new "Doomsday Castle," recently explained why he's building a Medieval fortress for his telegenic family in an undisclosed location in the Carolinas. He doesn't give his last name, because if he did, people would try to track him down and come live in his castle, obviously.
Does he really believe we're in more danger today than we were during World War II? The Cold War? During the Black Death?
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"I think this is one of those times in history where we have so many other countries in the world that are seeking to take us down, and they’re looking at any way possible to do that, and the logical way would be through an EMP or electromagnetic pulse," he said in a Television Critics Association panel.
"But also there’s the possibility of a solar flare, which in 1859 happened, literally fried all the telegraph lines. If it would have happen today, it would fry all the chips, taking our whole electric grid system down. I think we’re just very, very close to that possibility. And I feel it’s my responsibility as a father to prepare my family for something like that type of an event."
The September 1859 solar flare to which he's referring to is also known as the Carrington EventI. It did indeed damage and disrupt telegraph services, but the world didn't end. Of course, we didn't rely on telegraphs as much as we rely on the Internet, which we now use to order takeout, Google "the Carrington Event," and look up what time "Doomsay Castle" is on.
"Doomsday Castle" airs Tuesdays at 10/9c on NGC.