Why America(ns) need to Grow Up, Part I

by Gary King 

A recent article stated that profanity, violence, and non-Christian religion were bad things, when used in video games, but that the author was in favor of any religious depiction that displayed the positive lights of good, Christian religion.

Although I consider myself a Christian, I find the author's belief to not only be entirely immature in and of itself, but completely appalling. Immature? Yes, there are countless religions in the world, and until one person can give me one shred of hard proof that one religion is "right" and another is "wrong," there is no reason for anyone to start declaring theirs to be right and another's to be wrong; it becomes a Mac vs. PC debate. The author requests laws of physics to explain the universe, and I must say that physics does seem the most plausible of all creation theorie. According to astrophysics' theories, all sections of the universe are not only expanding ("Red Shift") all the time (indicating that at one point, the "Big Bang," all matter was condensed into some super-dense particle), but every point in the universe has some temperature, some residual energy from the Big Bang (the temperature is typically slightly less than 3K). There is no proof for religion, and only theories for physics.

What an author chooses to print/type should not be censored by zealots' beliefs in something that could prove to be entirely bogus. (Is the world flat? remember, at one point, the power of Christianity was built on that very belief alone.) In my opinion, it should be a requirement that if something is going to explore religion, it should be explored in all lights. I love Final Fantasy Tactics for just this reason: although it wasn't too conspicous, it did question why anyone would choose to belive in religion, Christianity in particular (Golgarond = Golgatha, 1 of 12 disciples selling out St. Ajora/Jesus for money, etc.)), at all. I ask these questions of myself constantly, and I realize that unless I constantly question my current views and beliefs, all I really have become is a lifeless blob of society that has no reason for believing his beliefs other than because they are the "popular" beliefs of the time. I have no problems with Christians (or any other religious faction) being zealous (even over-zealous), provided that they always check themselves by asking themselves why they believe what they do. If they can answer this question without hesitation and without some makeshift answer (ex. "I was brought up a Christian"), they have successfully comprehended religion. Otherwise, they have become pawns of either the church or society; I'm not sure which is at fault.

Now that I've covered my views on religion (and probably offended many), I will move on to "mature content." As stated in Hamlet, "Things are neither good nor bad, but thinking makes them so." How exactly are "glutius maximus," "butt," and "ass" any different? They all mean the same thing. Just because one person at some time decided to call "ass" a "dirty, offensive word" doesn't mean that 6 billion people over a thousand years later should, too. Video games are as much a reflection of society as are TV and the movies. The fact is, concepts and things that may appear reproachable to some are acceptable to many. If I didn't want my 10-year-old playing Night Shift, Quake II, Myth, or Final Fantasy Tactics/VII, I would just put them somewhere where he couldn't reach them. Although I'm still far too young to have a 10-year-old, or any kids for that matter, I will firmly say that if parents feel that games or the media are corrupting their kids, they should put their kids up for adoption in a house that will teach them morals. Media never made people, people make the media. You can't point your finger at something else and give all the blame to it for violence in Rwanda, shootings in Jonesboro, or hellfire and brimstone. While the media is far from perfect, and may confuse some people too young to understand it, there is no substitute for good, solid parenting. Allow your kids to partake of "disgusting" things (provided they are old enough to understand right and wrong), but make sure that the line between right and wrong is clearly drawn. I enjoy Bushido Blade and Resident Evil 2, but that's not going to turn me into a Samurai Zombie Killer. No, I wouldn't show Resident Evil 2 to my 7-year-old cousin, but I would to my 7th grade cousin. There comes a point when kids can understand, and that is where parents should stop prohibiting these things and let the kids make the choice; after all, if kids can't make choices growing up, how will they make choices after leaving the parents' nest? There comes a point when things are neither good nor bad, but just things. Games aren't just made for 10-year-olds. If people wish to have engaging, thoughtful (or just engaging, violent) games, let them exist. The last thing I want to see is the video game scene to turn into Puritan Massachusetts.

Censorship is evil; it grinds people into lifeless raisins that are mass-produced, not born, by other people. When "radical" or "mature" ideas cease to exist, and are replaced by "moralistic, Christian views," or any other views, hell results. Many books (that would probably be considered "rogue" or "evil" by moralistic Christians) exist that warn the world about the dangers of censorship and the hell that results: Most notable are Fahrenheit 451 and Brave New World. Different people will dream of different sheep; that's not only a good thing, but a dire necessity.

The belief that something that doesn't profess "good, Christian" views and beliefs of the world can be the cause of all the world's ills is actually the reason for the ills themselves: We can blame things as much as we want, but until we reform ourselves, the things will just be extensions of us. The reason for the Jonesboro shootings wasn't that Kip Kinkel played video games, it was that his parents didn't do their job of supporting him and teaching him right and wrong. Blaming things is not part of the solution, it's part of the problem. Realizing both the need for free speech and the need for accountability by people is how America(ns) need to grow up.