752 MCGRAW-HILL’S SAT
One of the most misguided notions of conventional
wisdom is that depicting violence in the media makes
our society more violent. A close examination shows
that this claim is baseless. Societies with severe re-
strictions on violence in the media tend to be more,
not less, violent than those with no such restrictions.
Indeed, despite the popular myth of a more peaceful
past, societies were far more violent before the advent
of movies, television, and video games. Societies that
restrict access to “immoral” western movies are the
same ones that call their citizens to violent and irra-
tional holy war.
As Michael Moore pointed out poignantly in the
movie “Bowling for Columbine,” Americans kill
each other with firearms at a far greater rate than al-
most any other first-world nation. But he is quick to
point out that our media is not more violent than
those in Japan or Germany or even Canada, which
have rates of violence that are a full order of magni-
tude lower than ours. Indeed, the killers among us are
not likely to spend a lot of time listening to Marilyn
Manson or playing Mortal Kombat on their Play-
stations, despite what our more nearsighted and
sanctimonious politicians and preachers would like
us to believe. Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber, lived
in a one-room shack without electricity or running
water,let alone cable. But even if murderers like
Kaczynski were video game addicts, attributing theirmotives to media violence would be missing the point
entirely.
People who are habitually violent have adopted a
“war mentality.” They tend to see the world in black-
and-white, us-against-them terms. Tragically, our
leaders tend to have this very same mentality, but
they couch it in “patriotism.” Lobbing cruise missiles
and landing marines in another country is not con-
sidered a horrible last resort, but a patriotic duty. If
we wish to understand why Americans are more vio-
lent than the Japanese, violence in the media will hold
no answers; Japanese kids watch just as much vio-
lence. Foreign policy is far more telling: which coun-
try has leaders who engage in violence against other
countries at every opportunity, and constantly try to
convince us that it’s right?
If our pundits and politicians were truly con-
cerned about making a safer world—and there are
many reasons to believe they are not, since they profit
the most from a fearful citizenry—they would begin
by acknowledging that violence is almost a desperate
grab for control from a person or people who believe
they are being repressed. If we want a more peaceful
and noble society, then we will stop coercing other
countries with violence and economic oppression. As
Franklin Roosevelt said, “We have nothing to fear but
fear itself.” We are the most fearful nation on the
planet, and we are paying for it.Detailed Answer Key
Section 1
Consider carefully the issue discussed in the following passage, then write an essay that answers the ques-
tion posed in the assignment.Many among us like to blame violence and immorality in the media for a “decline in
morals” in society. Yet these people seem to have lost touch with logic. Any objective exam-
ination shows that our society is far less violent or exploitative than virtually any society in
the past. Early humans murdered and enslaved each other with astonishing regularity,
without the help of gangsta rap or Jerry Bruckheimer films.Assignment: Do violence and immorality in the media make our society more dangerous and im-
moral?Write an essay in which you answer this question and discuss your point of view
on this issue. Support your position logically with examples from literature, the arts, his-
tory, politics, science and technology, current events, or your experience or observation.The following essay received 6 points out of a possible 6. This means that, according to the graders, it- develops an insightful point of view on the topic
- demonstrates exemplary critical thinking
- uses effective examples, reasons, and other evidence to support its thesis
- is consistently focused, coherent, and well organized
- demonstrates skillful and effective use of language and sentence structure
- is largely (but not necessarily completely) free of grammatical and usage errors