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The Importance of Violence to Mankind

Let me just start by saying this has been a very unproductive weekend. I didn't read anything edifying. I didn't accomplish any of the real world goals I'd set, like changing my brake pads, or cleaning house. After Friday night, I didn't even see any of my friends (not that there are many, but still). I inherited a nice laptop, but didn't really mess around with it (although there's a reason for that, but, again, but still).
I played the sh*t out of Grand Theft Auto 3.
In case you've been living under a rock since late October 2001, the aforementioned games is basically a thug simulator, chronicling the rise to prominence of some no-name two-bit would be bank robber.
'But wait, Zen', a voice cries from...somewhere. 'Isn't that the game where you go around carjacking people and beating old ladies to death?'
It is.
'Isn't that the game which rewards you for such horrible deeds as blowing up a fish factory?'
It is.
'But Zen,' the voice says, 'you're a moral creature. Isn't this just...wrong, to you?'
There are many acts of unspeakable violence (actually I could describe it, but I'm just lazy) in this game. People such as the redoubtable Senator Joe Lieberman have given it the mark of Cain, as it were, saying, in essence: "This game is a Bad Thing (TM). We must remove it from store shelves so our children don't get up and kill people."
They don't have to worry. Not many people will get up and kill after playing this game. They just won't stop playing.
I think back to the furor which arose in the early 1990s over Mortal Kombat. Lieberman was in on that one, too. Not that I hate the politician...in fact, it's refreshing to see someone stick to a particular stand on both ends of an 11 year period...it's a mark of character, even if I disagree with the principles involved. Of course, violence didn't begin Mortal Kombat...or even with the Gilgamesh Epic. It has been part and parcel of the human experience, of life itself, for as long as beasts have preyed on other beasts. Only mankind has elevated it to the point of spectacle.
Still...why should one play a game such as Grand Theft Auto 3? There is a certain amount of exploration which takes place, whether you intend to find your way around Liberty City (the setting of the game), or whether you just go on a mauling spree. There are secrets to uncover...cars of every kind to test drive, weapons to master, and bosses to serve. In fact, if you follow the actual storyline of the game, as opposed to going on a mauling spree, there is a very strong anti-drug message (your character is set against a gang which thrives on the trade of something called SPANK...). But in order to advance...you must kill. And kill. And it's fun!!
One of the questions of our age is "has the overexposure of our youth to violence in the media caused them to become, in turn, more violent?" There is plenty of evidence to present on the 'yes' side, it would seem. A large portion of this evidence consists of tales of imitation...or inspiration. The Columbine killers were fond of video games and violent movies. So am I. In fact, as an adolescent, a friend of mine (also a male) and I made a point of finding especially violent movies and watching the most violent scenes over and over again, compiling body counts and other such macabre activities. But we would never dare to go out and waste a bunch of people...because we knew that society as we loved it could not exist with too much random wanton violence. Of course there will be some (especially in a city like Baltimore), but we weren't about to add to it. We knew there would be dire consequences...not just for us, but for many other people.
Of course it does seem like there is so much more violence in our media today than there may have been 20 or 30 years ago. The news regularly reports acts of violence, or acts of destruction. Then again, there have always been people who just need to look upon scenes of carnage, whether roadside accidents, or the destruction of the World Trade Center (which still draws pilgrims), or a house burning down....there is something in the human soul which is drawn to such things.
Sometimes lost in the discussion of violence in the media, and its effect on our youth, are the parents and guardians of this youth. These people have a charge to fulfill: to educate their children about what's right and wrong. The parents and others who reared me managed to inculcate in me the understanding that I can not just go out and kill someone, or hurt someone, just because I feel like it, or because he or she has wronged me. Of course, no one is perfect, and I'm sure I've hurt many people in my time (I don't think I've killed any one, but who knows), but I do recognize the rights of other people to exist unmolested. It's a lot easier to kill someone, or maim someone, then to bring someone back to life.