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AS we approach the dawn of the 21st century, there is a widespread sense that we are living in extraordinary times. To many, the rapid pace of technological and scientific change is an indication that we are on the cusp of a marvelous era of peace, prosperity, and social advancement. To others, the rapid deterioration of moral and ethical standards at the end of the 20th century is an ominous sign of the impending disintegration of societal norms and the reappearance of clan rule that characterized the Dark Ages following the fall of the Roman Empire. Still others see the rapid economic decay, social and political upheavals, widespread corruption, and a dramatic increase in natural disasters as a sign that we are approaching the Biblical end times. Whatever the interpretation, the fact is that there is a pervasive sense that the pace of events is accelerating and we stand at the threshold of dramatic and irreversible change. In 1995, Art Bell, a late-night radio talk show host, coined a term to describe the accelerating pace of events in the last few years. He called it "The Quickening." In 1997 Art Bell became the fourth-highest-rated radio talk show host in America, behind Rush Limbaugh, with an estimated weekly audience of nearly 15 million listeners on more than 300 stations nation-wide. What is particularly remarkable about this audience is that his program, Coast to Coast, is an overnight show during the week. On Sundays he hosts another program, Dreamland, which boasts millions of additional listeners worldwide on the internet. Art Bell's programs are unlike any on radio. In addition to news and politics, Bell deals with a wide variety of unusual topics such as UFOs, alien abductions, crop circles, paranormal phenomena, animal mutilations, alternative religions, and the like. His shows are a magnet for millions of New Age believers, UFO and alien contactees, and those who are simplyinterested in the bizarre, the arcane, and the outright strange! In addition, Bell reports nightly on more than a dozen social, governmental, geophysical, and paranormal phenomena which he states are "quickening" as we approach the end of the 20th century. In his book The Art of Talk, Bell describes why he coined the teuun and the nature of a "In all the years I have been on the air with my radio program, I have seen things begin to accelerate in nearly every aspect of American life.... The unbelievable violence, the defiance against authority, the blatant looting, and so on.... Other evidence of The Quickening, or the acceleration of things, includes the dramatically changing weather patterns; there is more violent weather than ever before. Earthquakes, hurricanes, and other acts of nature are happening with increasing frequency.... People everywhere are beginning to feel the hair stand up on the back of their necks as if they realize something is about to happen, perhaps some sort of judgment. I also feel something is about to happen and all these accelerated things seem to point to the same conclusion. After several years of taking note of this accelerated trend (accelerated in mostly a negative way), I finally summed it up one night on the air and just called everything that was going on The Quickening.""™ 96 THE QUICKENING the items he tracks: Bell is careful not to interpret the signs that he sees. He well recognizes the wide