Does you ever watch disaster movies or post-apocalyptic shows like The Walking Dead, and think about how fear and scarce resources can turn normal people into monsters? If we imagine ourselves in these situations, maybe we think things like … I’d never do that. Or I would never just stand by and let that happen.
Imagine…
Zombies are taking over the world. You and your few remaining family/friends have holed up in your dwelling, when you hear shouts and panic from outside. Four or five people are being chased by zombies. They look terrified. One is even a bit bloody. Has he been bitten? You can’t tell. Have any of them? They could hide it from you…but then again, maybe…likely, really, none of them have been bitten at all… and they clearly need help.
The horde is closing in on them, but they could make it inside if you just open the door and let them in. You don’t know them, and if they come in, they might have to stay a while. You might have to share some of your food and water with them… but they are human beings, right?
Do you open your door a bit and let them inside, or do you watch them die on the lawn just outside your house? What if a zombie somehow gets in?
(What if one of them is infected?)
Well, yes, maybe someone has been bitten. It would put your whole group at risk. It is a small but real possibility.
But what is a certainty is that these people will die if you don’t get over your fear and help. Would you ignore their pleas and let them die? Would you whisper reassurances, shield your children’s eyes and tell them not to look when it happens? “It was us or them…?” What would that be teaching the children about life? Only ours is important?
Do you ask those poor people on your lawn if they tried other houses first, or if, in their terror they just went wherever they could? Just to make sure they really need to come to your house.
You don’t know those people outside. They are like any group of people. There are some good, there may be some bad, and there are a lot in between. But you don’t know for sure. But they are living, breathing people like you. If you don’t help them, and something really bad happens to them, will you ever forget it?
This is happening now. Only the people in the house are America.
The people outside, running for their lives, are Syrian refugees. And the Zombies are terrorists, wreaking havoc on everything, spreading their disease where they can.
Now, do we retain our humanity, or do we become monsters?
alienredqueen 