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Day 19
Tragedy of the Columbine Kids
By Al Menconi
The
tragedy in Littleton , Colorado did not
stand alone. It was simply the most deadly
in a disturbing pattern of school shootings
that occurred through the late 1990’s:
October 1, 1997 in Pearl, MS; December
1, 1997 in Paducah, KY; March 24, 1998
in Jonesboro, AR; April 25, 1998 in Edinboro,
PA; May 19, 1998 in Faye tteville, TN;
May 21, 1998 in Springfield, OR; and
April 20, 1999 in Littleton, CO.
According to the National Campaign
to End Violence in Schools, our nation
has averaged 5 or more school shootings
every year since the Columbine shootings.
Does that surprise you? It would seem
that school shootings have now become
so common that most of them no longer
make the national news.
Everyone searches for the reasons behind
these senseless acts of violence. There
is a litany of excuses: guns are too
available; classmates were cruel; parents
weren't involved; teachers were unaware;
not enough security on campus. The list
goes on and on.
Yet, most of these factors have been
in effect for hundreds of years. Guns
and weapons have always been available
to children, especially in rural areas
and in earlier times. Children have always
been cruel to each other, from the time
of Cain and Abel to yesterday's junior
high PE class. Parents and teachers are
traditionally seen as distant authority
figures. Only in the past few decades
have they begun to focus on the “emotional
needs” of their children.
These dynamics don't seem to hold water
as excuses for the rash of school shootings
in recent times. All these factors were
a part of the lives of earlier generations
of school children, except for two: a
complete absence of moral values being
taught in the classroom, and the phenomenon
of revenge and violence in today's movies,
television, music, and video games.
Over the past few decades, our society's
morality has been completely undermined.
Until recent times, biblical principles
were the accepted norm in society. Before
my generation, it was fairly easy to
tell the difference between right and
wrong. The Ten Commandments were right
- anything less was wrong. Some Supreme
Court decisions, however, have had the
effect of throwing God out of our educational
system. There is no longer a firm basis
for defining morality.
Today's entertainment media has filled
this moral vacuum with a celebration
of vividly bloody acts of violence and
revenge. Video games from “Grand
Theft Auto” to “Painkiller” take
the player on a vicarious journey of
murder and mayhem. As a game player,
you don't just watch the action taking
place. You are the action
taking place! You don't
just control an imaginary player. You
become the hunter and the hunted.
There is actually an addictive energy
and excitement when you "kill" the
enemy.
Many of today's most popular movies
glory in their violence. Films from Desperado to Kill
Bill (1 & 2!!) feature violence
that is so ‘over the top,’ they
are described by critics as artistic
genius! The audience is manipulated to
root for revenge from "the hero" because "those
guys" deserved it. This is not the
rare exception—it is now the rule.
As if this wasn’t enough to contend
with, the impact of all this blood and
violence is multiplied by making video
games from the movies (Texas Chainsaw
Massacre or The Chronicles of
Riddick) and vice versa (i.e., Resident
Evil or Alien vs. Predator)!
Now we can take every bloody image from
the movie theater to our TV in the living
room – and then bring it to our
computers in our private offices or bedrooms.
The entertainment industry seems so
bent on making money off the concept
of killing; they don’t seem to
consider that they might be killing the
kids they market to.
Reflection: No one
can prove that today's entertainment
media caused all those school shootings.
But when you remove the basis of our
society's morality and fill it with hopelessness,
violence and revenge, is it really any
wonder that children are making such
tragic and destructive choices?
Response: The next
time you’re at the video store
take note of how many violent movies
have video game tie-ins and vice versa.
It will help you become aware of how
the industry is multiplying the impact
of its value system.
Verse of the Day: 2 Timothy 3:1-5
"But
know this, that in the last days
perilous times will come. For men
will be lovers of themselves, lovers
of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers,
disobedient to parents, unthankful,
unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers,
without self-control, brutal, despisers
of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty,
lovers of pleasure rather than lovers
of God, having a form of godliness,
but denying its power. And from such
people, turn away!" (NKJV)
This is an important biblical description
of the last days. It is also an excellent
description of the philosophies and attitudes
of the majority of today’s entertainment
stars. The Bible exhorts us to stay away
from such people (such entertainers).
Is the Bible telling us to hide from
sinners? By no means! We are to be a
salt and light to the non-Christian community.
They need to experience our unconditional
love and see us living our life in such
a way as to glorify God in everything
we do. That can’t be done if we
hide from unbelievers. The implication
of the biblical context here is not to
let “these people” be an
influence on us. Being influenced by “these
people” is not the same as interacting
with non-Christians in our day to day
life.
The most powerful influence in our
society comes at us through the various
forms of entertainment at our disposal.
We also have to remember that we are
in a spiritual war and that the entertainment
industry supplies the majority of ammunition
aimed at us. This verse should serve
as a reminder for us to evaluate the
philosophies of today’s entertainment
before we allow it to entertain us. It
is easy to become a casualty of war if
you aren’t careful. So be careful.
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