Unicorns Versus Zombies: The Question of Morality and Equality in a Global Community

Elena Wasnak

World Politics

Professor Craig

Briefing Paper

Unicorns Versus Zombies: The Question of Morality and Equality in a Global Community

It is a fundamental part of being human; we make the assumption that we are the good guys, the unicorns. Everyone who disagrees with us are the bad guys, the zombies. But doesn’t this all depend on which side of the line you are standing on when you assign those roles. It is doubtful that who we consider the bad guys, the zombies, think of themselves that way. Despite Thomas Hobbes insistence that humans are naturally evil and destructive, very few humans actually think of themselves that way. No one wants to be the zombie. Why would you when you could be a unicorn instead? Those that are allied with us, those that we share a common identity with, whether through values or physical characteristics, become our fellow unicorns. Those that we distrust or are openly hostile with become zombies. This idea of separation, of good versus evil applies on a personal, domestic, and international level and is a very real threat to the global community as well as to peaceful society.

First, the unicorns. The symbol of goodness, purity, and morality, but it’s something more than that. A unicorn is special; it is unique. In story books one never reads of a unicorn being scolded or even doing anything wrong to be scolded for. That inherent goodness gives a unicorn certain rights and privileges, affords it trust that might not be given to a zombie. A zombie is not only a symbol of death and destruction, but also of a spreading evil. Anything touched by a zombie is tainted by its influence and therefore becomes a zombie itself. You can’t trust a zombie, zombies cannot be reasoned with. The same conceptions can be seen on the international scale, the only question is who are the zombies and who are the unicorns.

As Americans we like to think of ourselves as pillars of morality; we are the unicorns in our own eyes and perhaps part of the world might agree with us. If we are the unicorns, then who are the zombies? During the Cold War, it would have been Russia and any country that had fallen to communism. They did not share the same value as we did and were obviously a threat and a source of evil. As unicorns, the US and the countries of NATO had the responsibility of fighting back this evil, for the good of the global community. But alternately , perhaps America and its fellow capitalists were the zombies, as we were more likely portrayed of by the people of those communist countries.

Which brings us to our problem. This concept of separateness, of a division between two forces who both believe themselves to be virtuous and the only obstacle in evil’s path, makes our global community a fractured entity lacking trust and filled with members who are unwilling to compromise with the “enemy”. Not to mention we leave ourselves vulnerable to manipulation by those who we believe are our fellow unicorns but who might not have the common good in mind.

For example, many historians believe that the 1953 coup d’etat was not in the best interests of the United States or Iran, but rather Britain’s dying imperialism. Britain staged communist demonstrations and manipulated Eisenhower’s fear of Soviet Russia getting its hands on Iran’s precious oil deposits. Looking back through the lens on history makes Britain seem less like a unicorn and more like a zombie. A common identity can cloud our judgment.

But, nations are not always our unicorns or zombies; sometimes they can be demographics or even genders. On December 7^th, 2011 the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared, “Gay rights are human rights” and “it should never be a crime to be gay” (BBC). In some nations it is illegal to be homosexual; in those nations homosexuals are different and thus zombies that must be punished for their inherent evilness. The US’s change in foreign policy to consider gay rights when offering asylum and foreign aid is interesting because it does not follow the unicorn versus zombie pattern that is so prevalent in international relations. In most parts of the United States gays are not allowed to marry and many of those who view their lifestyles as immoral discriminate against them. It could be said that because there is such anti-gay feeling within America’s borders that homosexuality is not a big enough part of American identity to be a factor in policy decisions on the global scale. However, Clinton made it clear that homosexuals were now a factor. It is interesting to note that though some US citizens might view homosexuals as zombies, on a global scale we are making them our unicorns.

This fluidity that describes the transitions of both morality and equality is the only hope of repairing a global community divided by a black and white spectrum. The world is in shades of gray, there are no such things as zombies or unicorns and neither will help us attain a peaceful global world. Identity ties nations together, but it can also tear them apart.