Good afternoon, Netizens...

 

States cannot ban the sale or rental of ultra-violent video games to children, the Supreme Court ruled Monday, rejecting such limits as a violation of young people’s First Amendment rights and leaving it up to parents and the multi-billion-dollar gaming industry to decide what kids can buy.

 

This brings us to a quandary of sorts. There are, as I am certain, some parents who probably need the limitation of law regarding young people and ultra-violent video games because they do not care what their children watch, or at least do not care enough. Of course, the parents who do care about what the impressionable minds of their youngsters may see or hear would not be affected by this ruling. This is not just about video games, but about anything children see or hear, including television.

 

My impression is that we need to restrict what young children watch, as there is a logical relationship between children watching violent or sexually violent material and how they react once they reach adulthood. If parents cannot regulate or do not want to restrict what their children watch, I pity them for they underestimate the latent power of adolescent and pre-adolescent minds. If you teach children that violence in all its ugly forms is acceptable or desirable behavior, they will continue that belief into their adult lives, perhaps even passing that belief onto their children. Thus it becomes a multi-generational transgression. Of course the gaming industry has a huge and very powerful lobby which seeks to sell its wares to whoever can afford the price for so long as they exist.

 

Of course, the Supreme Court perhaps could pass a law making adult parents responsible for the acts of their children. Ostensibly we already have similar laws, but nobody appears to be enforcing them. Hence we have children watching adult videos and television shows. This is wrong, in my opinion. Of course, your beliefs and ideals may differ.

 

Dave

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