I absolutely appreciate and agree with your opinion that video games do not equal the real-world experience of shooting a gun and taking a life. That’s pretty much common sense. There’s a WORLD of difference between the two… it’s troubling that some folks (read: politicians, knee jerk reactionaries, etc) can’t seem to grasp that fact.

There are and always will be troubled souls in the world who have a hard time distinguishing fact from fantasy (insert Dubya reference) and yes, more attention needs to be placed on the tragic disconnect between parents and children in respect to the sort of responsible guidance kids need to become socially responsible members of the populace.

I don’t believe in Christianity and/or creationism. Personally, I feel that irregardless as to how and why we were placed on this planet, the fact is that we’re here and we all need to pull together if we’re going to survive the troubled future that we ourselves have wrought. It seems very irresponsible and destructive to the overall good to just assume that since we’re “only animals” it doesn’t matter what we do with the time we’re given. If in fact this is our one and only go around on this plane of existence, I’d prefer to spend my last moments knowing that I tried to make a difference and to be a force of good in the world. The concept of moral absolutes is open to debate, but the inherent common sense “good equals good, bad equals bad” programming we’re all born with should prove as good a guide as any in how to conduct one’s self, and it especially applies to parents. Or at least, it should.

Communication leads to education. Education leads to enlightenment. Enlightenment leads to peace.

And that ain’t a bad thing.

Those that believe in eternal damnation frankly believe that they have no real choice- it’s morality at the point of a metaphysical gun. Personally, I have far more respect for those who choose to do good without believing that there will be any divine punishment if they don’t, because it’s the right thing to do, because it makes sense, heck, because it feels good to do it.

The great liberation in knowing the truth that the universe and everyone in it have no pre-destined purpose (An “accident”, as some choose to insultingly call it) is not the freedom from morality. Rather, it is the freedom to recognize that each person is the captain of their soul, the master of their own fate, and to knowingly choose your own purpose, one that fulfills you, both mentally and spiritually.

Personally, I wouldn’t want to live in any other universe, although a world in which more people recognized this truth might be nice…

JMHO

As for some of Japan’s other problems, one that’s sort of relevent here is the rise of incest, particularly between mothers and sons, often owing to the father being away at work so often, and then having to go party with the bosses afterwards. I had several classes in college on Japanese culture and history, and this is one of the elements we talked about. Spousification, as it’s known, is enough to screw anyone up, even if it remains behavioural rather than sexual.

Didn’t mean to turn this into a forum on Japanese society, but I felt I did need to correct my statistics, as Aastra was right to point out…

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I think you meant to say 600 or 700 a year, which is still a very low number for a country of almost 130 million people.

Brilliantly said.

We have a violence culture in the states, from video games to music, and a reasonable person cannot say that can’t have an effect. It doesn’t effect all of us, but it has an effect.

And I think we have to start thinking realistically about those effects, or things are going to get worse.

BTW, I’m actually rather a fan of Japanese pop culture, so don’t think I was necessarily dissing it. But it is what it is, and some of it is quite extreme…