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TV Violence
Copyright © 1997 by David E. Ross
Congress is considering legislation to restrict the hours during which violent shows can be aired on television. The purpose is to protect young children from viewing too much violence during their impressionable years.
This is wrong for several reasons:
- The government should not stiffen the spines of parents who do not have the backbone to control what their children see on TV.
- My children are grown and gone, and they have not yet provided my wife and me with any grandchildren. Why should the TV entertainment entering my home be restricted to what is suitable for children who do not live here?
- The proposed law would prohibit broadcasts of such great films as "Schindler's List", "Two Women", "America, America", "Shape of Things to Come", "War of the Worlds", "Exodus", and many others. It would also prohibit the broadcasting of most operas.
- The law is directed at fictional, faked violence in which no one is really hurt. It does not affect the real violence — in which individuals are sometimes very seriously hurt — of hockey games, boxing, and the evening news.
- From the comments made about art and entertainment in recent years by various elected officials, neither politicians nor government should be allowed to dictate what entertainment or culture we accept into our homes. These are choices we should make for ourselves.
1 May 1997
On the 6:00pm news tonight, I saw a fight at a professional baseball game. Players from each team were intentially trying to injure players on the other team. Why is this acceptable for young children to see while fake violence — where no one is hurt — is unacceptable?
15 June 1997
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