Friendship

(C. Jardin) #1

how to vent their frustrations over problems that don’t instantly resolve themselves by using
violence.


Entertainment industry executives deny that TV, movie, and video images, however violent,
are responsible for young people’s violent behavior.


Are these the same executives who sell Super Bowl commercials for a half-million dollars
apiece, claiming that they can influence behaviors in sixty seconds?


Well, uh, yes. see.


But surely it can’t be simply video games that are desensitizing kids to death and violence.
Kids know it’s “just a game.


Do you know what some police and military academies use to teach professionals quick
hand-eye coordination, and to shoot to kill without emotion?


Video games?


I only asked a question. I’ll leave you to discover the answer. But could you think of a faster,
more effective teaching tool?


Oh, man, I probably shouldn’t have put all this in here.


Why not?


People don’t want social commentary from me, and they certainly don’t want it from You. This
is a book about God, and God isn’t supposed to have opinions on social issues of the day.


You mean, real life?


I mean political and social issues. You’re supposed to stick to spiritual matters, and so am I.


Is there any matter more spiritual than how to stop your children from killing each other? Do
you need many more Columbine high schools to get you to understand that you’ve got a real
problem here?


We know we’ve got a problem, we just don’t know how to solve it.


You do know how to solve it. You simply have not gathered the will to do so.


First, spend more time with your children. Stop acting as if they’re on their own from age
eleven. Get involved, and stay involved, in their lives. Talk to their teachers. Make friends
with their friends. Exert an influence. Have a real presence in their lives. Don’t let them slip
away from you.

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