Recent instances have seen an increase in violent crimes in the US. The article “We Are Training Our Kids to Kill” attributes to the increase in violent dispositions and the deaths that result from the content aired by the modern media. Essentially, children become cruel when they are uncovered to improper films and documentaries. Thus, Grossman proclaims that “they study it from violence in the home and most pervasively, from entertainment in television, movies, and interactive video games”.
Principally, the author establishes the correlation between the portrayal of violence in the media and the manifestation of the vice in actual life. The exposure renders the differentiation between fantasy and reality in the match of violence in the media and the manifestation of the vice in real life. The exposure renders the differentiation between fantasy and reality in the event of violence impossible (Grossman 479). Essentially, individuals become immune to acts of killing when they are constantly watching the same over the media outlets. Based on Grossman's assertions, human beings do not enjoy the act of killing. Instead, they become used to the act as a result of external influences. For instance, the article alludes to the conditioning that soldiers undergo which renders them immune to the guilt that comes with killing. Therefore, among human beings, “Killing requires training because there is a built-in aversion to killing one's own kind” (Grossman 480).
Conclusively, Grossman calls on the Christian community to commit itself to the mitigation of the killing culture in the society. He states that “there are many things that the Christian community can do to help change our culture” (Grossman 482). The article encourages the engagement of measures that are predicated on love and assurance. It calls for the promotion of youth activities, fellowship groups, and mentoring programs as the answer to the need for the control of cruel instincts among children and the youth. Lastly, Grossman reinforces the immensity of the church in the fight against the killing culture.
Work Cited
Grossman, Dave. “Trained to Kill”. Christian Today, 1998, pp. 473-482, Print.
