Every time there is a shooting, many wonder how the world has become so violent. The truth is, the world has always been violent and what occurs today is no worse than what happened years ago. People who think that violence is a recent phenomenon either do not know about history or enjoy oblivion.
Years ago, there was no television, therefore little news was available regarding non-local events. The lack of information created a notion that back in the days there was less violence. People were unaware of what was happening around them and it made them believe that they were living happy, peaceful lives which in reality was far from the truth.
History tells the tragedy of countless millions who have suffered from some of the worst violence imaginable. The United States is not that far removed from the horrible torture and oppression due to slavery. Only a few decades ago, lynching and beatings of African Americans were common and acceptable. However, in those days everyone was supposedly moralistic, religious values were strong, and the media was tightly censored. The violence of those times, just as the violence of today, occurred not because of violence portrayed on television or in video games, but because people do not give a damn about others.
In every country and culture there is a violent past, from the Holocaust, to the killings of countless thousands of indigenous Americans throughout North and South America, to name a few. No one wants to recognize this side of history; it does not leave room for bragging. These incidents reflect the worst in our faults and our prejudices. Often these acts were committed in the name of nationalism, sometimes in the name of God. People were killed for what they believed or did not believe and, too often, for how they looked. Sometimes it is easier for people to forget than to accept reality.
Today’s violence is much less structured than it was in the past, and it is common to hear about numerous violent acts daily. Some might say that these people were influenced to kill by the entertainment world, their lifestyle or their job. These are just shallow excuses that block the truth. Would changing the content of movies and television in general do anything? I have watched plenty of what are considered to be “violent” movies, and never once has the thought of killing a person crossed my mind. A “normal” person is not going to watch a “violent” movie and decide to go out and kill.
A convenient way to explain crime is to blame it on television and films. They are the easiest scapegoats. If it was found that shootings were caused by the way people are educated or how they were raised, that would mean we would have to inconvenience ourselves and concoct solutions. We might have to do some work, and no one really wants that. It is easier just to make excuses and do absolutely nothing.
We have to stop blaming others for our messed up society and start looking in to the real causes. Yes, the world is not exactly Eden, a lot of us do not get our fair share. But violence will not bring us closer to solutions.
In short, the message is bleak. We either accept that the world is filled with cruelties and people willing to carry them out however they see fit, or we work toward change. It is not an easy task.
The world can be a less violent place. We just have to stop blaming, stop making excuses and start taking action against violence in all of its forms. Who knows, if we eventually want change badly enough, it might happen.
Nune Gazdhyan, a junior communications major, is features editor of the Campus Times. She can be reached by e-mail at gazdhyan@ulv.edu.
