Does violence in video games contribute to real life violence? – Part 6

Violent video games most definitely and indirectly contribute to real life violence in a manner similar to how music and reality television have contributed to the rise of teenage drinking and immorality. I don’t need a study nor do I need some psychiatrist to tell me what I have been witnessing for the last fifteen years.

We are such a simple organism that even though our minds have evolved to the point that we can out-control some of our most basic genetic tendencies, it seems we cannot overcome our selfish need for immediate and personal gratification, no matter the cost. And the situation, as far as I can tell, has become desperate.

Parents are so busy with our dual income homes that we fail to properly address the nurturing that our children so desperately need and this includes the control of what they do, watch or play.

When I was a kid, we watched wresting and martial arts movies so we wrestled and had mock fights. Now kids are watching video games with drugs and extreme violence and they are playing them all the time. Heck, even Halloween is no longer what it used to be. Kids just don’t have the time or desire to, well- be kids.

We are in the midst of an innocence lost period will dark storm clouds gather ominously. The name Sodom & Gomorra come to mind and I’ve never even read the bible. But the hand that strikes us down will not come from the heavens; man is his own most dangerous and worst enemy and we are allowing our kids to be raised with blinders. We need to ensure that our kids learn from our mistakes, not emulate our blunders. And I believe that some of the extreme video games and cartoons on television are major blunders because television has a dramatic influence on a young and malleable society.

Along the lines of “guns don’t kill, people do”, what violent video games are doing is desensitizing our youth to the suffering of their brothers and sisters. Kids are becoming numb to their surroundings and I see it all the time on the streets, on the news and even in videos.

The strong and compassionate American male archetype that I grew up watching is, in the 21st century, lost in the pixels of commercialism that is continuously fed to all Americans by our corporate brethren while they get rich at the expense of the future of this great nation: our children.

And if you any have doubt, just step back and take a long hard look at what is happening to our American Dream.