Violent games aren't just child's play

The physical distancing in both cases also permits an emotional distancing that has observers appropriately concerned. Killing is so easy when you only have to push a button. No bloody muss, no emotional fuss.

Some of today's video games have pushed the limits of what any sane adult would find acceptable for children, yet we can't seem to apply the brakes. Freedom of speech trumps common sense as children have access to games in which, for example, gangsters kill cops, steal cars, solicit prostitutes and beat them.

That's the gist of "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas," which won game of the year in the second annual Video Game Awards. The fun, of course, is that the player gets to commit and experience the killing and stealing. Although books and movies inarguably offer vicarious experience, there's a profound difference between imagined and simulated experience.

That adults should be free to enjoy these un-trivial pursuits isn't up for debate, but few would argue that children have a right to such "entertainment." Studies show a correlation between video game violence and increased aggression in children and adolescents, especially among those already so inclined.

Which is not to say that a 14-year-old who plays "Grand Theft Auto" necessarily will pack heat in his lunchbox. Still, it's hard to argue that pretending to kill and maim people is helpful to a civilized society. Why wouldn't we restrict minors' access to such potentially damaging materials?

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is trying to do just that by promoting two bills that would criminalize the sale of graphically sexual or violent games to minors. The video game industry prefers to continue regulating itself by posting ratings on packaging to help guide parents.

Whoever wins this battle, it's clear that the war for childhood innocence will continue to be a long, hard slog. As we pick sides, we might be mindful that the leap from paper targets to live animals in Texas was a puddle jump. We may someday measure with regret the psychic distance between video-simulated rape and murder and the real thing.