Solving Aggression- Is Controlling Media the Best Way?

"The television screen is the lens through which most children learn about violence" (263).  Where are the parents?  This statement points in the direction that violence could be better solved by improving the education of children and parents.  Sissela Bok's argument depends on the perceptions of the child and adolescent viewers- it assumes that they will see violence and emulate it, despite its context and without influence from their own ethics or experience. 

            Bok recognizes that other factors are involved in violent crime and that “not even the total elimination of media violence would wipe out the problem of violence” (263).  Why?  One of the characteristics present in almost every violent act is a circumstance of passion over-taking rationality.  Preventing children from seeing violent images does nothing to combat this.  Children have active imaginations and it is dangerous to assume they lack capacity to think of violence without television’s influence.  It is therefore necessary to combat this.  Children acting without logic or guidance, on mere impulse, are most susceptible to observational learning of negative actions.  Educating children is more important than sheltering them.  Thoughtful consciousness should be more highly valued and sought.  Rather than putting ear muffs on children to keep them from hearing “bad words”, teach them that they have the choice of how they express themselves and the uselessness of hatred and anger in relating to others.  This same logic applies to violence.  Children are constantly surrounded by opportunities to do good and bad.  Rather than trying to control the things they see, try to influence children with positive, accepting thought patterns and peaceful conflict resolution. 

Imagine all the other crimes and worries of the world that could be decreased through a population of people more often driven first by logic and then passion. Now if the children are choosing violence through solid logic, which is undoubtedly less often the case, educating children of their place in society and working for children to feel loved, supported and secure is more direct and impactful than putting blinders over their eyes.  There are television ratings and warnings that already exist to shelter children from violent images, as well as parental controls on some televisions.  The education of children needs to be pushed, and primarily targeting media violence is a distraction from this that society really needs.