Predators
are important. They're life-threatening and terrifying things, but
they're essential for the ecosystem and the animals that thrive in
it. Even the prey benefits, from having a species around that it must
avoid. As a result they become wiser, healthier animals, that are
better able to work and survive together.
If
a species is allowed to multiply, without the threat of predation, it
becomes a danger to its environment and itself. Let's say for
example, that bats become extinct one day. According to
infoplease.com, a single bat can consume six-hundred, to a thousand
mosquitoes in one hour.
What
fresh hell would we find ourselves in, if all of those insects bred
unchecked? Imagine the amount of disease, that would spread among
the livestock. Imagine the amount of protection you would need, just
to walk outside. Now let's replace that pest, with a species that
currently has no natural predator, and let's see what damage the
human race has wrought..
Classic
Movie Trailers - Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Some
of us don't believe that people are animals. Though science has
proved that we are, I can appreciate the mindset. No animal in their
right mind, would willingly poison the environment they live in. I
also know of no other example, where a group of anything living has
caused so much death.
I'm
sure I don't have to prove the amount of devastation to you. I don't
have to find the graphs that record the losses of rainforests, or the
losses in lives, or the amount of chemicals we dump into every
available space. For many years, we churned a pot of soot and all but
ignored the toxic smoke. We've changed the weather literally and for
the worse, endangering the entire planet.
But
all of that stuff isn't important to us. What's important is the
iPhone 6, the latest sports car and our favorite sports. We've become
so accustomed to these comforts, that it's hard to imagine life
without them. As a direct result of that fact, we don't have all the
tools we need to survive.
In
"Night of the Living Dead", we're presented with a
fictional scenario. A new
predator
enters our environment and we have to quickly adapt. The people in
the film largely fail to do so. By observing them however, we can
learn what our weaknesses are.
Take
Barbara for example. Her fear led straight into hysteria, and the
pain of her loss led to false hope. If we're unable to quickly come
to terms with the situation, our physical readiness will count for
nothing. Your self-preservation instinct should guide your judgment
and allow you to mentally catch up
We
also have some baggage that comes from our personalities. If you're
the type of person that puts pride ahead of logic, you are going to
struggle. If you're argumentative and you believe that compromise is
a sign of weakness, you're weak as a result. A clan of prairie dogs
can escape with minor losses, because they work together; loners like
Harry are tragically and sometimes fatally isolated.
It's
true however, that we're looking at a work of fiction. There's no
threat of a zombie apocalypse and I doubt there ever will be. Still,
there's no guarantee we can stay as spoiled as we are. Unrest is
common, war is sure as death and taxes and no one knows the future.
We cause so much trouble for ourselves, that a predator might find
easy prey.
As
human beings, we differ in height, weight, strength and speed. We
have different mental capacities to work together and to deal with
stressful events. Our current environment has no predator, to demand
our best at all times. If a new one enters our space, we might face
extinction.
The
slow would die. The weak would die. The distraught, the argumentative
and the proud would fall soon after. In the end, if any are left,
they would have the qualities to continue the species. The ecosystem
would stabilize, our prey would rebound and we'd be better overall,
with something keeping us in check.
---------------------------------------------
@ChannelSeals
See
"Night of the Living Dead", for free on YouTube!
No comments:
Post a Comment