The Zombie Apocalypse: Brought to You by Guilt, Fear and Apathy
By Ruth Hopkins
It’s 2012. Mainstream society seems to have fallen prey to the whole argument that “The End is Near,” proposed by doomsayers and fundamentalists everywhere. Whether it’s been preordained by ancient Mayans, foretold by Nostradamus, written in the stars, or prophesied by the Book of Revelation, people today are more likely to believe that humanity is doomed.
Perhaps humankind suffers from guilt over the condition we find the planet and ourselves in, and rightly so. Climate change is real. There’s hard science proving its progression, and we’ve contributed substantially to it. Every year, as our population explodes, we burn through more nonrenewable resources, and encroach on the territory of plants and animals who have nowhere else to go. We pollute the ocean and hoard toxic waste. We wage bloody wars against one another, while children starve or die of curable diseases, even in this country. Christianity teaches that man is the steward of nature. If that’s true, it’s pretty safe to say we’ve failed miserably, even by their standards.
Maybe Western society has a subconscious desire to be put out of its misery. Since 9/11 it lives under constant threat of terrorist attacks, including the possible weaponization of bacteria, disease, and parasites. Economically, the whole world is in trouble, and there appear to be few viable solutions at its disposal. Many feel as though their lives are spinning out of control. There are no easy answers, and there’s no question, many people today are living in fear. Have we brought disaster upon ourselves? The jury’s still out, but I can tell you one thing with the utmost certainty: if the end is indeed near, it won’t come at the decrepit hands of reanimated flesh-eating zombies.
We’ve got bigger dragons to slay, and it’s time we’ve stopped feeling sorry for ourselves. While they aren’t “flesh-eating” killers, anyone who spends countless hours watching mindless television, who remains disengaged from their surroundings, who purposefully chooses not to use their voice to support causes they believe in, or who simply refuses to think for themselves, is a zombie: a mindless consumer who is blind to atrocities committed against their own people. You see, zombies are essentially dead sheep.
Sleepers, awaken. Don’t be blindsided by fearmongers who distract us with the sensational or grotesque. Instead of worshiping celebrities, pay attention to real issues in Indian country and internationally that affect our lives and the future of our children. Disaster could be on the horizon, but it’ll more likely occur because the masses were asleep at the wheel, while their governments stripped them of their rights, refused to plan for the future by promoting green energy or healthcare programs, or we sat idly by as officials who supposedly represent us allowed Mother Earth to be polluted and raped of her resources by corporate giants, all under our watch.
Take action, prepare, and unite. We are the vision and the dream of our ancestors. Natives, we haven’t survived centuries of attempted genocide just to duck our heads in the sand and bow to mainstream societal norms of oppression. On a genetic level, we are fearless, come hell or high water. We are warriors. Have a little faith in who we are, and that’s anything but a zombie.
Either way, people are much more uncertain and fearful than they should be. We're still a powerful nation that can solve its problems if it choose to.
For more on 2012, see Maya Mural Contradicts "Doomsday" Myth and "Mayan Apocalypse" in Chevrolet Commercial.
Zombies are also a strawman of conservatives because they're brainless, eat brains, and convert people to the brainless masses.
ReplyDeleteVampires, by contrast, are sexually deviant bloodsuckers, a strawman of liberals.