Hollywood, Parents and Heroes

By Colonel Dan, SASS Life #24025

The phenomenon of kids shooting kids is a sad reflection of a modern society whose moral bar has been lowered to frightening levels. While Hollywood provides a virtual classroom of increasingly violent behavior where children learn firearms abuse, some irresponsible parents ignore the inherent danger in that. When challenged by responsible citizens however those same Hollywood elites quickly defend their work citing First Amendment rights and irresponsible parents just as quickly direct the blame anywhere but home.

Everyone who has ever taught anything knows how effective visual images are as a teaching tool. Students learn more from visual images than any other media. Movies and video games are tremendous training aids—they can train responsibly or irresponsibly—it’s up to society how those tools are employed acceptably. Hollywood has been reckless with these tools and refuses to accept accountability for the results. Does that mean we need more government censorship of films? No, what we need is more parental censorship at home…and less patronage of Hollywood.

I’m a firm believer in personal responsibility and parental obligation to instill solid values as the most effective form of crime prevention and establishing a moral society. I’m also firmly opposed to government censorship of the movies—censoring what children watch is the job of parents not government. What I’m interested in here is truth, devoid of hypocrisy or distortion regarding the responsibility for influencing impressionable young minds.

In our search for truth, has anyone seen honest outrage from the left that seriously relates Hollywood violence to juvenile violence? I haven’t. What you might see is superficial lip service paid to curbing Hollywood violence while the real attacks continue on guns and the Second Amendment whenever the opportunity arises. The "intellectual elite" i.e. the press, Hollywood and their mouthpieces are quick to defend their work using the First and just as quick to kill the Second with no sign of embarrassment regarding the hypocrisy of it all. The truth however sings a different tune under a spotlight of fact rather than fiction.

Unconscionable criminal behavior is more the result of an overall lowering of society’s moral standards than the existence of guns. Guns have been around for hundreds of years but shooting up schools is a relatively modern phenomenon. When I was a kid, guns were much more visible and accessible than today, yet we never thought of shooting our classmates. Why? The moral bar of socially acceptable behavior was significantly higher and Hollywood hadn’t yet sunk to today’s lows. So what changed over the last 45 years—guns or society?

I’ve read reports stating many young criminals admit that Hollywood violence and video games influenced their actions and methods when committing such crimes. How many of these youngsters attributed their actions to bad influence from gun manufacturers, SASS or the NRA? I haven’t found any! If even one child cited legitimate gun enthusiasts as having influenced them to shoot up their school, the press would be all over that. When was the last time you saw an NRA film or a TV shooting show portraying firearms used as they were in the movie, "Natural Born Killers"? Hollywood not only plants the seed but provides a visual "how to" glorifying such behavior and making heroes of the actors. The ultimate proof of what Hollywood values lies in what they honor with their awards—you be the judge.

Additionally, I found evidence that many children who illegally obtained guns end up committing gun crime. No surprise there but how about gun related crimes committed by children who legally obtain firearms and are taught by conscientious adults? Although there might be some, I haven’t found any! Yet where is most of the media-generated blame thrown? “Those Gun nuts who support that evil gun lobby!” Where then does the real evidence point in terms of responsible vs. irresponsible behavior—the NRA's Eddie Eagle, ignorant parents or Hollywood?

Society is the changing variable here not firearms. The lower moral standards of today coupled with an open agenda of lies and the distortion of misplaced blame is much more prevalent in America these days than the truth of freedom, personal responsibility and moral behavior among a growing number of Americans. Those who are most egregious, reckless and careless continue to act with impunity while denying any culpability. Hollywood is part of America’s liberal community and the media finds it very difficult to castigate their own—publicly or privately.

We should recognize this for what it is—cultural domination of the apathetic segment of our society with no honest discussion of the facts. Were this an honest discussion, those most responsible would be held accountable starting with the criminal, regardless of age or tool used, the parents who failed to instill proper values and then with outrage justifiably focused on the creators of these theatrical classrooms of firearms violence. Now there’s a twist! How about conscientious parents and gun owners suing Hollywood for firearms abuse!

Until Americans raise the bar, refuse to patronize Hollywood’s trash and instill a solid set of values in children this trend will likely continue. That however may seem akin to reversing the flow of the Mississippi since irresponsibility is always the easier trail to ride than the responsible one. Conscientious parents and citizens must ensure they’re not tainted by the trendy but rather tied to the traditional. Those who stand firm in the face of society’s pressure to do otherwise are the true American patriots and it is they who will build a lasting legacy for future generations to emulate.

To those who stand fast while others around them falter, I render a sincere salute of respect and admiration and my chest swells with genuine pride knowing I live alongside such noble citizens. It’s steadfast Americans who made and kept our United States the greatest country on the planet. You are America’s real heroes.

Just the view from my saddle…

Contact Colonel Dan: coloneldan@bellsouth.net