Can't we all just get along...EVEN in a zombie apocalypse?

For me, the answer is no. 

Take a minute and read this great article about the rise of zombies in America (pun intended).

http://io9.com/5692719/a-history-of-zombies-in-america

If there is anything my Zombie Lord and Father, George A. Romero, has taught me, its that even in the zombie apocalypse, we are going to have to deal with the same shit we had to deal with before the apocalypse.  Just cranked up to 11.

When I had the honor to write the forward to the late Z.A. Recht's zombie sensation "Plague of the Dead" (http://www.amazon.com/Plague-Dead-Morningstar-Z-Recht/dp/1439176736/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1290404303&sr=8-1), I theorized that a zombie apocalypse was a chance for people who never interacted before to work together toward a common goal:  Survival.  Cloistered in our homes from day to day, we are unaccustomed to the social interactions of the days before air conditioning and cable.  People in the "old days" would walk around their neighborhoods, talk with others, play with others, and get to know each other and trust each other.

Let me emphasize the word "chance".  It would give us the "chance" to work together.

Today, we 'plug in' and socialize.  Whether its a video game, Facebook, Blogging, or whatever social or entertainment media we choose to sedate ourselves from the workaday world.  How would we face the people in our own neighborhood?  Since we don't know each other, would we all help each other?  Forced to trust, would we let others into our houses?  Would we just get pillaged?

The zombie apocalypse would force us to work together.

Or would it?

My thought is no.  When its survival, its get it first and take it.  Romero's characters showed it.  The desperation of victims of modern disaster show it.  How could you blame someone for stealing from a trashed store to feed their kids?

I share the same sentiment with the author of the article, and my books, "Down the Road", "Down the Road: On the Last Day", and the upcoming "Down the Road: The Fall of Austin" all share that theme.  Race relations is a strong element of the DtR world.  Growing up in south Texas, I know the tensions are still there and still see and feel it to this day.

In the event of a zombie apocalypse, I would pray I could find a few people to work together with.  We can look at history in our country in the modern era to determine if that would actually happen.

Until next time...