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Our violent and aggressive past has served us well. We fought hard and long to gain our very well endowed land. But now our task has changed to a more nurturing one. We now have the land but how do we maintain it as a healthy place to live. How do we cleanse ourselves from the aggressive tendencies which we have inherited?
There may but one way to create a more gentle society and culture. We need to make changes now that will pay off in future generations. Yes, that means to remove all violent experiences from the eyes and ears of our children. That includes the home, the k-5 grades of school, and in TV, movies, and the internet. Adults will still get their violent shows, but the next generation will shun them and violence will thus fade away over time.
Avoidance of violence is a real challenge. Avoidance has already started to happen gradually in some homes and in some classrooms. But more difficult hurdles are ahead.
Reforms are best started with early education. Keep children sheltered from bad images and expose them to more healthy choices. Get them interested in arts, music, gymnastics, and a host of stimulating and creative activities. Healthy, happy children can thus be steered away from violent pursuits.
Take the profit out of violence. Stop buying their products is a simple yet effective strategy.
What will replace our passion for violence and aggression? Therein lies the biggest challenge. Some progress has been made already. Remember the popular sport of Prize Fighting? It used to be a bare-fisted and bloody brawl which then morphed into a Boxing match with padded gloves and rules. Nowadays, that too has steadily waned in popularity. People have made their choices in favor of the less violent spectator sports.
The game of American football has offered an outlet for our violent energies, but it also has its problems and needs reforming or even replacement. There are dozens of fine sports enjoyed by other countries without the dangerous physical contact of football. They are just as enjoyable to watch and much safer to play. Will we ever figure that out? Maybe our younger generation can teach us.
We all know of modern families who already shelter their children from violent images and messages. Many do not watch TV commercials, football, nor most movies. Children can get very excited while learning about nature, science, and about people. Who needs violence. Violence no longer serves us well.
Fourteen years ago when we were struck at the World Trade Center in New York City we chose poorly in our overreaction. We sent our mighty military to Afghanistan and then we invaded Iraq. Rather than taking the slow and ponderous path of diplomacy, we chose the quick and dirty Military options. Our costs for these two wars has cost us a whopping $2.4 Trillion and we accomplished nothing! Have we learned anything this time? … Some of us have not! … We now rely upon the next generation to make better decisions and to avoid stupid wars. Hope lies in better early education.
VIOLENCE BEGETS MORE VIOLENCE.
OWNING GUNS MAKES YOU A TARGET.
POWERFUL COUNTRIES ARE THE MOST ATTRACTIVE TARGETS.
A GRASSROOTS CAMPAIGN MAY BE ESSENTIAL.
PLACE YOUR VOTE AGAINST VIOLENCE.
VOTE FOR GUN SAFETY PROGRESSIVE CANDIDATES.
ATTENTION TO EARLY EDUCATION CAN ALTER VIOLENT BEHAVIOR.
