I thought this is well said:
by LaVonne Neff 01-11-2011
A public figure is shot. School children are shot. A building explodes. A package explodes. And immediately we look for someone or something to blame: Republicans? The Tea Party? Democrats? Muslims? The National Rifle Association? White Supremacists? The devil? Mental illness?
As Congresswoman Giffords fights for survival, perhaps we’ll turn our soul-searching into a collective resolve to practice civility in both public and private discourse. But since we seem to be looking at others’ souls rather than at our own, radical transformation seems unlikely.
The sad fact is that all of us are awash in violence.
I believe that political ads featuring targets and cross-hairs – whether produced by Republicans, Democrats, or independents — are evil. I also believe, however, that they are metaphorical, not prescriptions for action. Alas, most of us voluntarily surround ourselves — and our children — with metaphors far more potent and pervasive than anything ever produced by a political committee.
The level of violence in even our PG-13 movies would have been unthinkable a generation or two ago (and back then, the special effects weren’t nearly so gory, either). Movie previews — supposedly screened for general audiences — feature intrepid heroes and occasionally heroines gunning down the opposition (while driving like maniacs). Video games let adolescents go on imaginary killing rampages. Smaller kids buy action figures. Violent lyrics are common in popular music. TV violence outdoes TV sex. Popular books feature — and often describe in gruesome detail — murder, dismemberment, and rape. And, all of these horrors are avenged by — you guessed it — violence.
It would be good if we could conduct debate without resorting to vitriolic ads and talk shows, of course. It would be good if automatic and semi-automatic weapons were available only to military and law enforcement personnel. It would be good if all mentally ill people had access to medical treatment (although, according to a report by the World Psychiatric Association, most acts of violence are committed by sane people, and most mentally ill people are non-violent).
But if we really want to stop the violence, we also need to pay close attention to our daily metaphors — the violent stories that change us for the worse while we think we are merely being entertained.
Source:http://blog.sojo.net/2011/01/11/violent-stories-that-change-us-for-the-worse/
Personally, I also do not appreciate political ads featuring targets nor do I go for movies that glorify violence, nor songs for that matter. The degree of violence in video games such as Grand Theft Auto is astounding. Our house does not have a play station or x-box or any of those things, but my son does watch violent movies as does my husband, yet I would not say that this violence watching has made them violent. I know the evidence is there that this is what is supposed to happen but anecdotaly I have not found it to be true here at home.
ReplyDeleteAt my work in a inner city school, however, children often act out violent video games on the playground. They point make-believe guns to each other's heads and pull the trigger. I don't like it, and I never allowed my son to play guns, but isn't it a game that most boys play? Think of the old cops and robbers.
I applaud this article for making a call for personal responsibility, not a macro-solution of government control. When like last week's shooting occur, there is typically a blame game by politicians and the media to find the ultimate culprit, as people no longer are to blame for their actions. Some how it is a society issue and we need government, business, or the media now to control speech (something i certainly don't trust any of those groups to do). I am disgusted by much of the violence in the media, but I don't want a macro solution, and would prefer we focus on creating the climate to create good people. Unfortunately, i think our society has largely disposed of the idea that we have to fight our nature, and instead look to macro solutions to our problems. Said better:
ReplyDeleteFrom an article written in 2009 by Dennis Prager:
"In the Western world since the Enlightenment, belief in the inherent goodness of human beings has taken over. This has resulted in an increasing neglect of character development because evil has come to be regarded not as emanating from human nature (which is essentially good) or from morally flawed individuals but from forces outside the individual — especially material ones."
Interesting point, though I am not sure I agree with Prager that our human nature is essentially good. Here is a point I struggle with somewhat. Are we born sinners?
ReplyDeleteI do agree it is someone elses fault for all my problems..I mean I if the food wouldn't of been there I would not have eaten it and if you wouldn't have said that I would not have hit you and if the coffee wasn't so hot I wouldn't have burned myself....and if...oh yea and then there is ..the devil made me do it.NOT!!
I suppose we have had violence since Cain first slew Abel and i am sure it was not with a 12 gauge Browning side by side shotgun. Yes I too remember not having toy guns, but desperatly wanting one. We made our own acron shooters using mom's sealer rings much to her dismay as our use rendered them useless for sealing; not to mention the close pins we wrecked. I also recall trying to make bows and arrows from the willows we would find in the bush. What about the Bic pens in school converted into blow guns(chewing those bits of paper and rolling them into a wad and hoping the teacher wouldn't catch you) note this was very much pre-aids days.
Is it not our very nature to be violent? Yes we need to teach character development and fine to say personal reponsibility, but at what point does your/my patience with my brother's(neighbour/friend/etc)lack of responsibility mean I need to step in? We need accountability for our actions. How do we achieve that? As a student I received the strap for participating in spit ball activities - corporal punishment - violence or accountabiity?
I too enjoy watching some movies that are far too violent(Die Hard) for example. As I refelct on what it is that I enjoy it is not the violence as much as it is that "justice" is served. (opinion only) The bad guys who created the mayham rape pillage murder didn't get slapped on the wrist and told to go have a timeout. "Demolition man" is a movie that depicts a scenerio in which a society thinks the have created peace and harmony only to find out they have no way to deal with someone who does not follow the rules.(Another perspective is found in the movie "Grand Torino")
Back to the point - do we need it depicted so at an increasingly graphic rate at an increasing number of "tasteless" venues. No!!
Do we need to take personal responsibility for our actions and stop passing blame? YES!!
Several ways to stop it-control the media and shut down the internet - trouble is it violates one them constitutional laws except where the gov't(or corp giants) decides for the people and controls it anyway
Is it not the quest for money that drives all this depiction of violence? Stop buying the crap and take the dog for a walk.
Enough disjointed rambling from the middle of the night
[Remember guns don't kill people no matter what the politicians want you to believe]
Karl K.
As much as I am appalled at the violence, language and sexual content on tv and movies and music videoes,especially those targeted to young people.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if it is because I am getting older or less tolerant but in my time these things were not so out there and explicit. I hate it and wish we could just return to the good old days and leave some things to our imagination. I do not need to see all the blood the gore or hear the words that pain my ears or offend or see porn on music videos, wasn't it more entertaining when it was all just suggested and not so vivid?
Oh though we do regulate song content with one simple complaint. I am glad the decision on banning "Money for nothing" was being considered just when I left Canada. hmmm must follow up on that one.
I agree with all of you whenever there is a mass shooting as was the case in Tucson and in the school shootings here the past years, blame is passed on everyone and everything else but the person responsible.
I also agree that it is up to us, it is our responsibility to rise above the finger pointings and act and behave responsibly and honourably. It is up to us to consider how and where we spend our time, what we are watching and reading and what we are saying in front of children and youth. I know I need to improve in this area.
oh btw I loved that movie Grand Torino and each time I wish that Clint Eastwood had found a different solution.
In my surfing the news I came across this article in the National Post it is very fitting to this topic and what both Karls said and Dennis Prager continually says.
ReplyDeletehttp://life.nationalpost.com/2011/01/25/with-secularism-has-come-a-million-new-ways-of-saying-its-not-my-fault/#comments
I have not read this writer before or not that I am aware of so don't know his background at all.
I praise the NP for doing this series.