Laziness at the end of the world

(Since I’ve mentioned it to a few people I might as well admit it here. Yes, I am doing yoga now. Given that it was one of my New Year’s resolutions that shouldn’t be too much of a surprise. I’m doing it using Wii Fit and I am glad that no one else can see me as I try some of the poses. It is apparently impossible for me to balance on one leg. That is a rather sad statement on my current level of fitness. Also, in case anyone is looking at purchasing EA Active I must recommend that you do not choose Muffy the Sadistic Trainer as your trainer of choice. Sure, she looks cute but the entire workout consists of “Hold that position longer”, “Try that rep again” and “Look at yourself, you fat slob. I can’t believe that you are wasting my oxygen.”)

I’ve finally caught up on my tapes of The Colony, the Discovery Channel’s attempt at turning the apocalypse into a reality show. I have to admit that it has been very good so far even if they have spent little time focusing on how to address the inevitable zombie uprising. I mean, they could at least mention destroy the brain. They’ve shown the people involved building a water filtration system, getting a generator up and running and generally surviving in a realistic manner. But this last episode brought up an interesting point.

Now the conceit here is that the entire idea of the show is that the participants are in Los Angeles after a supervirus has decimated the entire population. For two weeks they have focused on just surviving and their food and water supply is measured in days while their electricity depends on a hacked together pressure washer and a rather confusing wood gasifier. They know that there are people on the outside who want their stuff. So what do they do? They build a shower.

This to me exemplifies what is wrong in this country. Yes, I know that it is just a show and that means that a lot of the participants don’t have that feeling of desperation that would arise in the real situation. For them it is more like an episode of urban Survivor. But in reality what would your focus be on in that situation. You’d want to get as much food and water as possible. Get the electricity running. Secure yourself like mad. Work like hell to protect what you have and obtain more. A shower is the last thing that is required. You are using water that could be used for drinking, energy that could be used elsewhere, all so that you feel clean for a few minutes. It is nice for a few moments but then it is over.

It is just a sign that we have grown soft. Going two weeks without a shower is not the end of the world. Yes, you will be smelly and messy and gross but if the world is ending that is really the least of your worries. I am happy that the episode ended with marauders breaking into their camp and stealing their food and disrupting their supplies because that is exactly what would happen in real life. Except that in real life they would also have guns and several people would not have survived the exchange.

I also like the fact that the handyman, who is hated by most of the others, is the only one who is thinking clearly. He is focused on survival and hard work while the others are just floating through the day not putting in much effort. I’m telling you, if the world ends I’ll be following that guy. He gets things done. I bet he knows how to wield a machete because as I constantly remind people: blades don’t need reloading.