Hope, always

Recently, I've been addicted to the show The Walking Dead.  I know, I know...the title sounds pretty scary and it doesn't really seem like anything that myself or even my friends would want to watch on television.  However, Abe said that it was really good, so I gave it a chance.  And...well, I'm really glad I did.

If you aren't familiar with this series, it's pretty much about a zombie apocalypse.  Basically, it is a disease that everyone has in them, and once they die, they turn into a zombie.  And once a living person gets bit or scratched by one, they die.  I know that it sounds kind of dumb and really unrealistic, because that's definitely what I thought it would be like.  However, since I've been watching it, I've realized that there is so much more to this series than I ever could have thought.  There is so much emotional and psychological issues that the characters endure, which makes it really interesting to me.  I don't like the show because of the zombies.  I watch it because of the characters and their relationships with each other.  As with any good TV show, the characters all have something unique and different about them that really makes me become emotionally attached.

Now, before you write this off as some TV show that is completely evil, just hear me out.  I know a lot of people who would tell me not to watch it because of its graphic violence...and just the idea of dead people coming to life is enough to make people say that it is demented.  But...well, I don't think it is.  Actually, there are a lot of Christian undertones (and positive messages in general) to this TV show.  And I am writing about one of them.

At one point in the show (spoiler....), the main character, Rick, witnesses his son, Carl, get shot accidentally by a hunter in the woods.  He searches desperately for help, eventually finding a farmhouse with people inside that can help him.  Hershel, the owner of a farm and a veterinarian, helps to heal Carl's wound to restore his health.  However, he does not have all of the medical equipment at hand to do the necessary surgery.  The equipment is in a medical car down the road at an abandoned high school.  Two other guys, Shane and Otis, go to fetch the medical supplies so that Hershel can perform the surgery.  Because of all of the zombies that are where the medical car is, it takes quite a while for Shane and Otis to return to the farmhouse.  Hershel tells Carl's parents, Rick and Lori, that he Carl cannot survive for much longer without the medical supplies.

After hearing this, Rick and Lori go out on the porch and try to make sense of things.  Lori asks Rick if it is even worth it to try and save Carl's life because either way he will die.  He will either have to die in the farmhouse or by the zombies.  Lori kind of tells Rick that she hopes he won't make it because she doesn't want Carl to have to live in this world anymore.  She says that if Carl dies now, he would be free from all of the pain and suffering.  Rick responds with saying that Lori needs to have more faith.  Not necessarily in God (although the entire series hints at the idea), but just faith and hope in general that everything will be okay.  He tries to make Lori understand that they cannot give up and that they have to keep fighting for Carl's life and for their own. He tells her that although there are tons of evil and ugly things in the world, there are still plenty of beautiful things. Though it is hard for her, Lori begins to realize that Rick is right- the needs to have more hope despite of the never-ending tragedies that make up her life.

I know that we are not dealing with a zombie apocalypse (and after watching this show, I hope that never does happen...although I don't think it ever could or will), but we are dealing with tragedies everyday.  Our world is becoming corrupt and immoral whether you like to hear it or not.  We are dealing with pain and loss and suffering on a daily basis, even if it is not as extreme as in The Walking Dead.  However, we need to still have hope and faith.  Without hope, we are nothing.  I am nothing.  The world just needs to have some hope that things will work out in some way.  We can't stop fighting for what we believe in, no matter what or who tries to tear us down.

I hope this makes sense.  I just really wanted to write about it and share it with you all.  If you haven't seen this show, I would really recommend it.  Please don't just think it is completely evil.  As someone who hates everything evil-like, I'm here to tell you that it's not.  It's actually taught me some really great life lessons....as cheesy as that sounds, it's true.

Thanks for reading.  :)


-Emily