Media Abets Violence

"Budget Battle Begins" is today’s headline in the San Francisco Chronicle

Smart men and women, elected by the citizens of the State of California, sit down and work on a budget. They are courteous, thoughtful and enter into discussions, compromises and exchanges based on party lines and constituent pressures. The media portrays these discussions as budget battles. They are portrayed as wars, conflicts and fights. Harsh words and threats are not the rule but the exception in budget discussions.

Reporting of congressional debate on health care reform, federal budgets and what to do about the wars are depicted as battles and wars.

Is it any wonder that family discussions become mayhem, when the media portrays political debates as battles? Why are we surprised when street kids resolve differences battling with guns and knives?

Film and TV add violence as the way to resolve differences. Human nature itself has a drive toward war and conflict. The media feeds such drives with its endless glorification of life as a battleground.