We have talked before regarding the reluctance to take
personal responsibility for one’s actions in this country. Everyone looks for a scapegoat for their
misdeeds, and at the very least attempts to share blame with others when caught
in a no-no. But the problem with
witnessing violence must be further defined before we can begin to examine it,
in the context of shared blame. First of
all in this day in age, video games far outstrip both TV (which has adopted a
ratings scheme to keep parents mildly aware of content and a V-Chip to draconically
limit the viewing of their children), and movies (which have had a ratings
scheme in place for years) for displaying violent acts. Technology adds surround sound, virtual
reality (on the high-end), and most recently motion integration (i.e. similar
to the Wii box from Nintendo) and you get full throttle action. Every synapse of the brain fires and the stimulation
is hard to match.
But purely audio stimulation is also enough to affect taste,
attitude and behavior. White suburban
teenage boys seem to statistically be inclined to listen to the most violent
and degrading rap music on the market.
This niche keeps record companies in business, and perpetuates
stereo-typical views of life in the ghetto regardless of reality for the
artist. Idolizing violent rap music that
degrades women, rejects authority (big with the teenage crowd), and promotes
feeling good (getting high, drinking, sex, you name it) has made a profound
inroad in our society.
What is the net effect of all this exposure to
violence. Actually it is fairly easy to
define in terms everyone understands on a personal basis. Think for a minute about the first scary or
violent movie you ever saw let’s say 20 years ago. If your younger than 20, then picture an old
rerun of something you saw on TV late at night.
Take any movie of a violent nature that you remember making an
impression on you (but it must be an old one).
Now compare the level of violence in this older film with what you
witness today. Count the bodies, examine
the graphic detail you are exposed to today, versus the illusionary violence of
yesteryear. Gun shots used to knock a
person down. Now they produce fountains of
blood, squirting out in rhythm with the heart beat of the victim. Then there is the close-up shot of the wound
itself. The detail you see now far
outstrips what was done in the past.
Why? Not merely because the film
industry has matured and is now capable of producing far more realistic looking
imagery; no the primary reason why violence now is graphic is for the shock
value. And let’s face it, what used to
shock you years ago, hardly raises an eyebrow now. Again, Why?
Because repeated exposure to escalating levels of imaginary violence has
desensitized you and now in order to be truly shocked – the stakes must be
raised each time.
The military is keenly aware of these effects and uses
simulation models for training in every branch of the service. Pilots can be recruited based on how well
their hand-eye coordination functions in a video gaming environment. So yes, there is a desensitizing effect this
repeated exposure to escalating levels of violence is having on society at
large. It used to be that a TV gun-shot
was nothing like how it was in the ‘real’ world. Is this still true? It does not mean that because I am familiar
with violence I will act it out. But it
does mean the resistance to performing a violent act is wearing down, and
perhaps in a weaker moment, what might a person do?
Here is where we usually go down the wrong rat-hole. Understanding the effect of what we focus on
does not mean we should immediately join a boycott to protest violent content
in rap albums, TV, cinema, or even video games.
That kind of response is exactly what evil would have us do, should we
reach this realization somehow despite all of its best efforts to shield us
from it. Go off, half-cocked, on some
tangent to ban violence (which evil knows we cannot win), and ignore the deeper
meaning. What we should be doing is
asking ourselves – what else? What other
kinds of ideas and desensitizing actions are occurring within our brains based
on repeated exposure to other stimuli in our daily lives? Instead of trying simply to ban violence,
look left and right, and see what else is at work here.
When Christ walked this earth He uttered some of the most
profound truths we have yet to fully understand. One such gem of wisdom was when He said, “by
beholding we become changed.” Now think
this one through boys and girls – what we focus on – changes who we are. The implications are FAR greater than just
what we see, it encompasses what we focus on, what we pay attention to. This means that the career conscience over
achiever out there is changing the core of who he/she is by focusing on
career. It means the guy who watches
every skirt that walks by, and attempts to peer into every cleavage he can see,
is becoming changed at his core from what he is focusing on. And yes that future serial killer you are
raising who dresses in black, wears a trenchcoat in the summer, and listens to
music that makes you want to bang your head on the floor (largely to escape the
horrible sound from what I can gather), is being changed at his/her core by
what they focus on.
It is all too easy to point the finger at others and attempt
to pursue a course of action that will help protect ‘them’ from their obviously
bad choices. It is much harder to look
within and realize that the trenchcoat kid may be in trouble, but so am I. He may realize the silliness of trying to
protest conformity by conforming to a non-traditional image of himself (just
like a whole group of people exactly like him).
But will I realize the effect of focusing so hard on paying-the-bills
that I forego the priorities all around me that are much more meaningful and
important? It is easier for the
trenchcoat kid to get hot in the summer and decide maybe to be surfer-dude
instead – than it is for me the mature intellectual who relishes his IQ score
to come to know all his own wisdom is dust and make a conscience choice to
embrace humility.
This is the entire problem with the discussion we have in
this country about the effects of violence in our media, is that we do not
broaden the conversation to include every other logical conclusion of influence
in our lives. “By beholding we become
changed.” Changed, not temporarily
insane or on some sort of rant, fundamentally changed at our core. Our discussion is really about what we
prioritize with our time. How do we
spend what we have of it. Do we spend
endless hours staring blankly at a TV or movie screen jostled by ideas in
conflict with what is best for us? Or do
we ever come away from this routine and seek out the really meaningful in our
lives? Are we so content in complacency
that we lack the adventure to pursue what is in our own best interest? I wonder.
But what I do not question is that while I seek, I am still exposed to
many things, that are changing me – whether I like it or not.
For me, the only practical solution is to schedule time away
with God, and renew my interest in a world outside my immediate sight. Setting aside a time with Him, is a way to
recognize the reality of competing demands, and the choice to make at least one
good one. “By beholding we become
changed.” I want that change to be
towards the character of the citizens of Heaven. I want that change not to desensitize me from
exposure to violence but rather to be revolted by it. I do not want to be weakened through constant
compromise with my core values, but hardened in my resolve to follow God’s
precepts, and to love those who choose not to.
I wish to be broken on the rock of Christ, and rebuilt from the ground
up by the Master builder. Since I am to
be changed, let my focus be singular on the source of what is good. Let my distractions be brief, and few in
number. And let me not be swept away in
an endless list of concerns that vie for my attention, some needed, some
not. If I am to be changed, let me
changed into His image and not away from it.
Monkey’s and small children imitate what they see. They do not even realize the nature of the
behavior they are imitating, yet the behavior itself becomes learned within
them. We fight a perpetual battle for
our time and attention in this world.
Once again, Why? Because Satan
knows if we spend our time and our attention focused on our God, we will become
like Him. He knows his only chance to
capture us is to distract us, occupy our time, and divert our focus – keep it
off God at all costs, and if he can, put it on something destructive. He brings this fight to us, we don’t have to
go looking for it. So my fellow monkeys,
let’s put down our banana’s, our remote controls, and our other distractions
and just spend a few minutes in communion with the source of all light and
love. The more we do this, the better
the change in our lives …
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