Re-sensitizing Our Youth essays

Re-sensitizing Our Youth essays Stakes are high. The audience is restless. The thunderous echo of a motorcycle engine fills the arena as The Undertaker approaches the ring, ready to take on his worthy opponent. As boisterous cheers fill the room, he lifts his challenger by the neck with both hands and furiously throws him to the ground leaving his rival seemingly disoriented and writhing in agony. The crowd goes wild with exhilaration while some- where in America an eight-year-old boy, Aaron Auffhammer, is injured on the playground as a result of a classmates attempt to mimic a wrestling maneuver commonly seen on television. The maneuver known as The Tombstone was made famous by The Undertaker. Someone tripped him. While he was trying to get up, another child picked Aaron up by his feet so that he was upside down. Then slammed his head on to the ground. Thankfully, between a doctors visit to rule out a concussion and close observations from his parents, Aaron recovered. According to the American Psychological Asso ciation website (www.apa.org) it is estimated that American children watch on average three to four hours of television daily. During this time they have witnessed over 25 acts of violence. By the time the children are twelve-year -old they will have witnessed over 100,000 acts of violence. Two hundred thousand acts by the time they are 18. Violence permeates American homes through a variety of television programming including sitcoms, commercials, and even cartoons. Violence on television is not the only source that is desensitizing American youth it is however, a significant contribution. It is societys responsibility to help re-sensitize our children and make television less violent for all. Government is an immediate thought when it comes to rectifying the situation. The government unlike other sources has the ability to regulate through the Federal Communication Commission (FCC), what is broadca...