The Times We Live In?

A friend notified me of the following Youtube video: a news story about a seven year old boy who had stolen his grandmother's SUV.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLeVlBca5lg&feature=related

Don't get me wrong; the video is hilarious because the thought of seeing two little kids joyriding in a huge SUV is just absurd. However, my fuddy-duddy nature forces me to see this as a distressing sign of the decline of morality in society.

The newest version of the hit video game "Grand Theft Auto" was released recently, and a couple friends of mine have begun playing it. I was watching some people play it earlier today, carjacking people, shooting police officers and doing other brutal things around Liberty City (which is a dead ringer for New York City). The game rewards robbing and killing people because you can pick up the money you have on your character's person and add it to your own cache.

Am I interested in banning this game or curbing freedom of speech and expression? Absolutely not. All I am saying is that the people who create games like this need to recognize that they have a burden of social responsibility. Because frankly, some parents are not savvy enough to keep their children from being negatively influenced by things like this. Strict ratings on video games are necessary.

After I watched my fraternity brothers playing the game earlier, they were kind enough to drive me back to my dorm. As we drove, we joked about slamming into cars that were parked on the street near us. Now, we all have good grips on reality and would never be led to mistake the light, essentially nonexistent consequences in a video game for the enormous consequences in real life. But not all people have the same kind of grip on reality. Crime sprees that seem to mimic situations in these games are evidence of what can happen to people who cannot make that separation so easily. The line gets blurred. I suppose my point here is that it's up to those with the creativity to be responsible. This burden of responsibility should not be regarded as a hindrance, but sadly the egotists who seem to possess that creativity are reluctant to accept the responsibility. I guess it's the times we live in...