Survival Instincts

Apparently we all have them....

Just finished watching 'The Day of the Dead'and this lead me to thinking two things. (yes I can even get anthropological thoughts out of a zombie movie)

Firstly horror movies have always scared me and annoyed me equally.  As I sat there watching the soldier try to shoot over 100 zombies with 6 bullets, I thought why not just kill yourself? There's no way out this.

Isn't that the logical thing to do?  

When I watch horror I am the annoying person yelling at the t.v. 'Don't go into the cellar/attic or dark forest.'  'Take those heels off before you run away from the killer sweetheart.'  I'd like to think if I was ever in a situation like that I would do the smart, calm thing.  But generally we humans aren't that clever are we.  We make mistakes, we play with the zombies, we get into that car, we ignore our animal instincts that warn us of danger, stupid ideas or morally reprehensible actions.  Where is that person yelling at me, when I need them?  Melissa don't do that, drink this, or bite that person.

Secondly if we all have these built in 'survival instincts', why do we continue to test our capabilities, ignore logical conclusions and self sabotage?  Is it just like the movies where we have to go through a self assigned plot that has a subtext of underlying morals that we will learn from eventually the hard way.  

We are as a human race pretty thick at times.  I have always believed that life is not that difficult, it is actually quite easy.  We just complicate it ourselves, create dramas, test our survival instincts, push ourselves to the edge then brag about what we came back from.  It doesn't have to be that hard, the smart thing is learning your lessons quickly, the first time.  Not be doomed to repeat your mistakes over and over and over again.

I for one, know on my next away mission, I won't be wearing the red shirt.