Josie Karalyn Tolar’s Story

Today’s society has become cold to the fact that violence is a large part of our culture. My name is Josie Karalyn Tolar and I was born on November 27, 1995. The year is now 2009. I am currently living in Weston, Louisiana. I attend Weston High School and I am in the 8^th grade. I feel that violence is commonly expected, ignored, and accepted as normal in today’s world. Thanks to television, video games, and news broadcasts, people today are not emotionally affected by violence as they were 80 years ago.
First, we see too much violence in entertainment. We see violence more through television programs and in movies as compared to the past. Today it is not unusual to see someone injured, shot, or killed on a TV show. Popular shows like CSI, Bones, Law and Order, and even adult cartoons like The Simpsons, which I am not allowed to watch, contain large amounts of violence and death. Movies today also contain and promote violence. Movies such as Troy, Rambo, and Spider Man are a few examples. In the past, shows like Little House on the Prairie, The Walton’s, and the Andy Griffith Show taught family values. In addition, fighting and wrestling shows like WWE (what does this stand for?) and UFC (What does this stand for?) have a major impact on today’s society. These shows are so popular that video games are played worldwide based on violence. Many other popular video games such as Halo, Gun, and Killswitch even include violent themes. When all of these factors are added and repeatedly viewed, their messages become a natural way of life.
Television shows, movies, and video games are not the only sources that influence our attitudes toward violence. Due to our technological advances, the public broadcasting networks such as CNN and FOX News report violent attacks on our schools, churches, and public streets around the world. Because of violence in our school systems, special laws have been passed that prohibit anyone from bringing weapons on school campuses. There have been many tragic incidents involving schools. The Columbine shooting, which is the nation’s largest school shooting, the recent murder of a Yale graduate student and a Virginia Tech student, who killed 33 students including himself, is sad examples of such violence. People have also used churches as targets of their violent acts. Additionally, it is not uncommon today to hear about drive-by shootings or gang fights which leave many injured or dead. Public places such as malls are not strangers to violence either. There have been reports of kidnappings and shootings at malls, museums, public schools, and ballparks. Places that were considered 100% safe many years ago are subject to violence in today’s society.
In conclusion, I feel that because there is so much violence in our world today, we are not as affected by it when we see it. We do not experience the same shock and awe as in years past. Violence has become a common, everyday fact of life. Unlike decades ago, people today see and hear of so many examples of violence that the next report is just another sad incident to add to the growing list. I feel this should change. It is not right that young children and even teens are seeing things that should be for adult eyes only, if for any eyes at all. I believe that it is a sad and disturbing reality that today’s society has become so immune to violence.