Thou Shall Not Execute?

What sets humans apart from the rest of the beasts that reside on Earth? Is it our sense of community and social behavior? Or the way we use tools and advance ourselves for the "greater good?" How about our sense of humanity towards each other? My answer is yes. Humans and ants both build grand cities that contain thousands of lifeforms. Packs of wolves and people obey a set of social rules to keep them safe and to thrive. Monkeys also use tools and try to act "humanly" to each other. But no other specie but us can boast all of these qualities. But would all of these traits falter at the start of the end of the world?

The Walking Dead explores just that. As countries fragment, cities fall, and people lose hope, there is a constant theme about whether there is still a place for humanity in a world almost without humans. I don't want to give too much away about season 2, but there is a time when the group becomes split about a life and death situation. They capture someone from a possibly dangerous group residing nearby and can't decide whether they need to eliminate the scout or let him go. Some argue that killing living humans in a zombie infested world is ridiculous, while others say that everything is on the table when it comes to the survival of the group. Both sides presented valid arguments, but as I watched this episode, I began to contemplate what I thought on the subject of capital punishment.

I was brought up in a Christian household and taught that humans were not intended to have the power to decide whether one lives or dies. I do believe that we, humankind, have not been given an omniscient perspective on the world, and that role of judgement is for a higher being to assume. Nonetheless, I also know that there will always be malevolent figures in the world, and locking all of them up in prison is both incredibly expensive and not the best solution. On average, it costs around $47,000 to incarcerate one prisoner. Now multiply that by the 2 million odd convicts in America. That's approximately 94 billion dollars out of the government budget that we could've spent on improving the nation's public schools or even bailing us out of the looming "fiscal cliff." But I digress. I hope that in the near future, our nation will find a cheaper middle ground between prison time and capital punishment. I don't support executing prisoners, but rather believe that no matter how terrible the crime, everyone deserves a second chance. Maybe we can establish an abandoned island and keep all the most lethal prisoners there. If they want to live, let them work at it.

Finally, as I write this post, I came upon a realization. This present world we live in is not too much better than the zombie world of the Walking Dead. In a zombie world, there are no international tensions, depressions or recessions, or budget cuts, heck even global warming will stop. It's a world where everyone gets to start a new life, put all their previous problems behind them, and band together against a common cause. But that's on a global level, until then, I'm perfectly fine enjoying my bed, internet, air conditioning, heating, and not having to worry about getting eaten.

Last Man Standing

I think it's about time for a change of setting. Let's shift from the bustling world of New York and How I Met Your Mother to the more ominous post-apocalyptic world of the Walking Dead. This is a world where decent people don't stand a chance while ruthless criminals thrive. Each episode brings about intense zombie-fighting and sudden deaths you never anticipated. But ultimately, you experience the true nature of individuals who band together to try to survive in a world pitted against them.

Here's a trailer for the First Season:

The main character is Rick Grimes, a Georgian sheriff who was seriously injured during a gunfight early on. He falls into a coma and is completely oblivious to the unknown plague that ravages the world and leaves it's countless victims vicious and zombie-like. When he awakes, he finds the town abandoned and his family missing. Rick decides to travel to Atlanta where it's supposedly safe and the Center for Disease Control is working on a cure. The rest of the first season involves him finding other survivors and naturally being elected to lead the group to find a safe haven.

My family watched the first season when it first aired and they raved on and on about it. I wasn't surprised with the show garnering nearly six million viewers by the season finale and it being rated one of the highest quality shows by National Public Radio. So when my cross country season and Carissa's soccer season came to a halt, my family decided to start season 2, which was conveniently all on Netflix.

A number of things immediately shocked me as we finished the entire season in a mere two days. First, the extensive set and cast was absolutely astounding with its abandoned metropolis setting, congested highways, and massive numbers of zombies on set. The budget for every season was immense and I felt like the producers did a meticulous job making sure the setting was entirely believable and realistic. Second, the quality of the characters was refreshing. Each one changed to better adapt to the new world, and every character was well rounded and thought out. Some characters began to fall apart as the apocalypse proved too much for them while others grew stronger and more able. The show also brought up topics that delved much deeper than basic survival. Some of them include religion, capital punishment, social dynamics, individualism, poor parenting, and the recurring question of whether humanity still plays a role in this now twisted world. Finally there's a capable Asian character, Glenn who is pivotal and breaks Asian stereotypes commonly used in Hollywood. Represent!