1.The Impact of Media Violence 

“Monkeys see, monkey do” has become a well-known saying in today’s society, hut is it correct? Just sixty years ago the invention of the television was viewed as technological curiosity with black and white ghostlike figures on a screen so small hardly anyone could see them. Today that curiosity has become a content companion to many, mainly children. From reporting the news and persuading us to buy certain products, to providing programs that depict violence, television has all but replaced written material. Unfortunately, it is these violent programs that are endangering our present-day society.  

Violent images on television, as well as in the movies, have inspired people to set spouses on fire in their beds, lie down in the middle of highways, extort money by placing bombs in airplanes, rape, steal, murder, and commit numerous other shootings and assaults.  

It increases aggressiveness and anti-social behavior, makes them less sensitive to violence and to victims of violence, and it Increases their appetite for more violence in entertainment and in real life. Media violence is especially damaging to young children, age 8 and under, because they cannot tell the difference between real life and fantasy. Violent images on television and in movies may seem real to these children and sometimes viewing these images can even traumatize them. 

Despite the negative effects media violence has been known to generate, no drastic changes have been made to deal with this problem that seems to be getting worse. We, as a whole, have glorified this violence so much that movies such as “Natural Born Killers” and television shows such as “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” are viewed as normal, everyday entertainment. It’s even rare now to find a children’s cartoon that does not depict some type of violence or comedic aggression. Unlike most rational, educated adults, many children are gradually beginning to accept violence as a way to solve problems arid are imitating what they observe on television.

The problem isn’t the violence in the media though; it is the media’s failure to show the consequences of violence. This is especially true of cartoons, toy commercials, and music videos. Children often do not realize that it hurts to hit someone else because they see it all the time on TV. Everyday a cartoon character is beat up, injured, or killed, only to return in the very next episode, good as new. As a result, children learn that there are few, if any repercussions for committing violent acts.  

Unfortunately, as long as there is an extremely high public demand for violent shows and movies, the media is going to continue on the same path. And because t looks as though the “violence craze’s is going to continue for some time, we need to be dependent on parents to reduce the effect that media violence has on children, which can be done in so many different ways. 

First, parents should limit the amount of television children watch per day from the average 3 to 4 hours, which is double the number of recommended hours, to 1 to 2 hours. Children are exposed to far too much violence every day on TV, mainly because parents see the TV as a convenient babysitter.  

Parents should also make a greater effort to better develop their children’s media literacy skills. They need to help children to distinguish between fantasy and reality. Without proper instruction, children often have a hard time drawing the line between what is real and what is make-believe. With this education, parents should teach their children that real-life violence has consequences, in that pain is real and death is permanent.  

They need to understand that weapons and other acts of violence can inflict serious and lifelong injuries. This education can be done simply by watching television with children and discussing the violent acts and images that are portrayed. They should ask children to think about what would happen in real life if the same type of violent act were committed. Would anyone die or go to jail? Would anyone be sad? Would the violence solve problems or create them? Just asking children how they feel after watching a violent TV show, movie, or music video is enough to move them from their Innocent dream world into reality.  

Finally, the easiest and most simple way to keep children away from excessive media violence is to teach them alternatives to violence. Parents should not be so quick to let their children plop down in front of a TV set. They should Interest their children with something much more productive and exciting to do. However, this task is completed, it is important for children to be given the proper support in dealing with issues of violence. If not, they could end up like one of the thousands of criminals sent to prisons and on death row for mindless and unnecessary acts of violence.  

We are bombarded continually with images of violence, brutality, and sexual Immortality. When children, teen-agers, and adults all mindlessly automatically imitate and follow the leader, it is hard to believe that there are so many non-aggressive and non-violent people in the world. The reason for this is education.  

We, as a humane society, learn in the early years of our life that violence is wrong It is important for this education to continue with each passing generation. Mass media can have a very negative effect on children, but with the support of parents and a little control, the television can be turned into a beneficial tool rather than negative impact. 

2. Weapons of Mass Destruction Their Effects on Our World

Most people today believe that the world is a better place than it was 20 to 30 years ago. But I, on the other hand, believe that the world is becoming a very dangerous place. Even though the world’s superpowers condemn nuclear and biological warfare, I believe that the next millennium will bring a war that will make them change their beliefs toward weapons of mass destruction.  

There are many countries with these weapons. “For the past several years, U.S. government officials noted that there are at least ten countries known to have biological warfare programs” There are also another twelve countries that possess nuclear weapons. Other countries are seeking to develop such weapons. Some of these countries pay for the technological secrets or for the actual ingredients for these weapons. One such case is that of Libyan dictator Muammar el-Qaddafi, who “was so fixated by the dream of owning atomic bombs that he allegedly offered to pay India the equivalent of its national debt nearly $18 billion for the technology.” But India refused to sell Qaddafi its technology.  

Some of the countries that are suspected of having biological warfare programs are unfriendly toward the U.S. Some of these countries are located in the Middle East and some are signatories to the Biological Weapons Convention. This 1972 Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention prohibited its signatories from possessing or employing such weapons. This possesses a significant threat to the U.S. and all the other countries who hold grudges with the ones who have biological warfare programs.  

Nations acquire biological programs because they view it as an “inexpensive route to acquisition of a weapon of mass destruction.” Biological weapons are often called a “poor man’s atomic bomb.” Another reason why nations acquire these weapons is because they “desire to influence the political military calculations of potential adversaries, and to scare enemy countries. They want the world to recognize them as a military power and that they can destroy an entire nation with their weapons.  

These weapons are very destructive. The atomic bombs of today are about eight to forty times greater than the bomb detonated on Hiroshima. The Hiroshima blast killed between 70,000 to 100,000 people instantly. A biological agent can cause a similar number of deaths; it all depends on how well the country is prepared to spot the spread of the germs, and how populated the area is in third world nations, for example, the death toll could be greater because of the fact that they don’t have the necessary medical equipment to stop the spread of germs and viruses.  

These weapons are ready to be used at any time. With recent conflicts between Iraq and the U.S. & Britain, and also India and Pakistan, the threat of unleashing the power of such a weapon has increased greatly. In the past decades, India and Pakistan have come close on three occasions to starting a nuclear war. Some problems between nations are high and can cause war when the hostility gets too high to handle.  

The favorite biological weapons of nations with biological weapons are Anthrax, Botulinum, Clostridium and ricin. These agents usually kill the victims within a day or two after it has come into contact with its host. Surprisingly enough, starting cultures for these microorganisms are easily found in most areas. Those weapons are effective because the particles remain suspended in the atmosphere for a long enough period of time to Infect large numbers of people.  

Whenever these weapons are used, they have to decide how the weapons will arrive at their target. Countries using these weapons use missiles to deliver the microorganisms. A terrorist group would differ by actually taking the biological agents to their target and releasing it in the open, so people-as well as the wind-will spread the biological agents. 

Terrorism is probably the factor that is the key to the beginning of the next war. “Small nations, even sub national terrorist groups have the ability to inflict mass destruction upon their enemies.” One such group is Osama bin Laden’s terrorist group who has enough money to support his actions. This group also asks countries to house his group. The U.S. has acknowledged that some countries suspected of proving biological warfare programs are known sponsors of terrorism. One such terrorist act that could have been worse was the bombing at the World Trade Center in New York. Had the bombers used a nuclear weapon with plutonium, both structures would have had to be torn down and buried as radioactive waste. This is because plutonium has a half-life of 24,000 years-that’s the time it takes for half it to decay.  

Some people believe that this will not happen because there are treaties that ban biological orders and ask countries to reduce the amount of their nuclear weapons. They also believe organizations such as the U.N. will stop a potential war from starting. But there are countries who will not take advice from anyone and will do what they think is best.  

These types of weapons are becoming widely available to more nations and even terrorist groups. So far, no country has had to resort to using a nuclear strike in war. With so many problems between countries these days, it’s only a matter of time before these weapons are to put to use. That’s why I believe that countries who condemned the use of these weapons will change their views and ultimately use them.