Sociologists and culture critics have spent years studying this question and
have produced mountains of paperwork analyzing violence and its causes. They
have also proposed solutions, none of which appear to be working to stem
school shootings.
Elizabeth Thoman, founder of the Center for Media Literacy, contributes one
answer. She writes, defensively at first, "For years, like other
communicators, I believed that tolerating some things I didn't like,
including depictions of violence, was the price we paid for a free and open
public discourse. Š The issue, I believe, is no longer one of protecting
free speech, but protecting human life; it is not a question of censoring
ideas but of changing behaviors that are endangering the health and safety
of every citizen, young and old."
The media won't change and government isn't about to make them change, other
than imposing fines for broadcasting certain vulgar words. So the task falls
upon the parents. Get rid of the TV, or at least prohibit children from
watching violent shows. Don't allow violent and crude music in your home.
Don't divorce, which causes children to feel abandoned and become angry.
Stop aborting babies, because if human life is seen as cheap and disposable
at its early stages, we lose a moral argument for preserving it at later
stages.
Talking about school violence is not a bad thing. Doing the tough things
that will reduce it is better. Abandoning the notion that parents should be
"friends" with their children would help, along with the investment of
quantity time in their lives. But that would require major changes in many
households that now put building wealth ahead of building character.