A "Doomed" Society

On April 20, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold entered Columbine High School and opened fire murdering 13 and wounding 23. They then committed suicide. This became known as the Columbine shootings.
Both Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold played the violent video game Doom religiously. Doom is a highly graphic first person shooter game where the player carries weapons killing people and creatures. According to “Issues and Controversies” the investigating authorities found journal writings that compared the massacre to the game Doom as well as evidence that one of the gunmen named his gun after a Doom character.
What kind of society sends the message of glorifying and acting out murder, sex with prostitutes, and selling drugs through violent video games like “Doom” and “Grand Theft Auto” while at the same time imprisoning and sending these children to the gas chamber when they do it in real life?
There is ample research and evidence that indicates playing violent video games raises the level of aggression in children. In the April issue of the American Psychological Associations Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Dr. Karen E. Dill indicated that playing violent video games can raise the player’s level of aggression: “Even a brief exposure to violent video games can temporarily increase aggressive behavior in all types of participants.”
We are becoming a depraved society as violent video games are causing more aggression, desensitizing, and morally corrupting our children.
We’re using the same video game training that the military uses to teach their soldiers to kill which desensitizes them as they play. According to an article in “Issues and Controversies” the Marine Corps has used the same popular video game “Doom” to simulate actual warfare training.
We’re training children to kill by the age of fifteen. Does anyone else see that this is morally wrong?
Some claim that violent video games release aggression and serves as a place to safely act out their violent tendencies in a safe environment instead of real life.
To this I ask “Why do they have these violent tendencies in the first place?” It’s not natural to feel these sorts of aggressions towards one another. So where are they coming from?
I pray that my son who is almost three will grow up with the natural feeling of violence not sitting well with his stomach. I hope that our generation will begin to see the foolishness in playing these games and the damage that they are causing to our children and society.
I grew up with the birth of video games and was an avid player through the years. In my experience, playing these games caused me to act out my aggressions in real life towards my friends. While we were playing, if I lost a game or was being taunted by a friend then I would lash out without thinking twice about it and physically hurt him. This was not the case when I was in a normal situation with my friends. After playing these games for many years, it saddens me that I do not even blink at horrific images and stories that I see or hear. I quit playing violent video games three years ago and I have been left with the feeling of being dirty-as though some part of my innocence was taken through them.
We need to consider what these games are saying to our children. We also need to ask ourselves, “Why do some parents encourage playing these games and even play them with their children?” Laws that are stricter and do not allow these games to fall into the hands of children must be put in place.
Parents let me ask you this; would you allow your child to watch a pornographic video and then watch as the man beat and murder the woman?
If you answered yes; well it’s illegal and you need therapy. If you answered no which I’m assuming that most did, your children are seeing the same thing in some of these games but what’s worse there actually acting it out and choosing to do these things as the first person action allows them to do so.
We as parents have the power to stop this corruption of our children and society. It starts with you and your morals. I challenge you to truly search your heart and consider the love that you have for your children and what we are teaching them-your love should be enough to prompt you in making the right choice.