Comments

I agree with you. What we have done to try and extract information from captives is not acceptable. Studies have shown that information received by these and other forceful means is generally unreliable.

We live in a violent society, that is for sure, and I do see the right vs. left arguments all the time. A lot of what we do I find objectionable, and do feel that we need to make more gestures of peace than we do of force.

Might I suggest one thing though: the culture of Jack Bauer and violence in the media, in general, is put forth by left leaning, liberal filmmakers and studios. You would not see material of this sort from the Christian studios – of which there are VERY few because it seems that America has an appetite for blood and guts that has been endorsed by Hollywood and to so called “arts.” This culture of violence permeates the very fabric of our nation, and numbs us to all the news from around the world of human strife and suffering. Every major Hollywood studio supported the Democrats and Barak Obama – not saying that Obama has anything to do with what Hollywood produces, but it does seem that they all fall on the left side of the aisle.

So, how do we reverse this trend? How do we restore the culture and values that once made America great? I don’t have the answer, and am tempted to say that you can’t without a MAJOR breakdown of our society.

You said that the right sees liberals as dangerous – well, with what Hollywood is feeding to our children and society as a whole I would have to say yes, they are dangerous and part of the problem. A more conservative approach to the arts – a more sophisticated and tasteful approach to media in general would go a long way, but again – I think it is too late. I don’t want censorship, I just want good taste, I just want them to stop showing the violent crap on the news, TV, radio, etc. that is poisoning our society. How can we have peace when we dream about violence? How can we be shining examples of kindness when all we feed our souls is death, destruction, and paranoia?

This is why I tuned out a long time ago from the big media stations. They are simply not healthy for your soul anymore.

@Stephen J. Galbincea: Thanks for your long & detailed thoughts on that subject.

Here are mine:

Might I suggest one thing though: the culture of Jack Bauer and violence in the media, in general, is put forth by left leaning, liberal filmmakers and studios.

In that case I have to object. 24 is produced by Fox – which is part of the Rupert Murdoch Empire. Hardly a Liberal.

In general I would say “violent entertainment” is produced by greedy people who don’t care about the impact – or they simply know that there is a huge audience for blood out there.

A more conservative approach to the arts – a more sophisticated and tasteful approach to media in general would go a long way, but again – I think it is too late. I don’t want censorship, I just want good taste, I just want them to stop showing the violent crap on the news, TV, radio, etc. that is poisoning our society.

Ouch! We had that kind of approach to Art & Media here before. It didn’t work (and I am NOT calling you a Fascist).

The “problem” with Free Speech is that you can’t legislate morals nor good taste.

A certain amount of violence and drama is part of many good stories – I would rather say, we have too many of such “bloody” dramas instead of brainy good ones.

The good thing about modern media is that we have a choice. There are a gazillion channels in most countries – plus all that good (and bad stuff) you can find on the Intranets.

We need to be good consumers and vote with our wallets. Hollywood and all other film studios produce crap, because consumers buy it.

And Kids need to be educated to use “media” smarter – and parents need to smarter with media as well. TV or a PlayStation is not a baby sitter …

I am a very conscious consumer – I consider all movies, Tv and Games as mental food. And I am very picky what I feed my mind …