I remember being woken up one morning at 3am by a brother phoning me to tell me that people were jumping up and down on the Berlin wall & the end must be so close - would I go out on the ministry with him the next day? (Answer - no - let me go back to sleep.) That was 1989 - he left the "truth" a few years ago.
As long as I can remember , there always has been this feeling that Armaggeddon is imminent. Sometimes it wanes a little bit - other times events seems to give a renewed urgency. The GB can play this game forever - they run this show like the shop that always has the " sale now on - these bargains can't last" posters out.
Having said that , I think there are 2 factors that are perhaps coming into play more than before:
(1) World events really are pretty awful Those of us remember the 70's - 3 day week , recession , inflation etc that really provided the spur to the 1975 campaign. At the moment it is a bit like those years - like a perfect storm - failed wars & a shambles in Iraq & Afghanistan , Iran's nuclear threat , troubled world economies ( the euro is in a real mess & really could go totally toxic ) etc etc. There have also been quite a few high profile earthquakes , especially in Japan & the boxing day tsunami a few years ago.
(2) The JW baby boomers are getting old Those who became JWs as young adults in the 50's & 60's are elderly now. They are often reaping the sad fruitage of having little if any pension provisions. They are tired , disillusioned & stressed , as are their 30 / 40 something year old offspring whom they "brought up in the truth" and are scratching their heads wondering why Armageddon hasn't arrived yet , when they were promised as children that they would never even graduate from school , let alone have children of their own. The reaction is as av8orntexas describes. It is more in hope than expectation , almost a desperation that the big A will come suddenly & bail them out of their situation.