1) The complete absence of any evidence linking the objectionable media’s availability to any negative real-world consequenses of any sort, anywhere, for anyone, ever; and

2) The widespread and inevitable distribution of said media by channels that are almost impossible to control.

Anyway, although correlation is hardly proof of causation, if either porn or violent video games were going to submerge the world in ruin, it would have done so by now. Instead, we find a decrease in violent crime of every kind over the last 30 years.

I have a similar problem with the various kids/teens shows from Nickelodeon, etc. We can’t be living our kids’ lives, but at the same time as parents we do need some help from the vendors. After all, we rely on Burger King (just as an example.. we do not feast there all the time, but limit it to once a week!) to tell us what’s (ingredients, calories, fat) in their meal.

If I see an ‘R’ on a DVD or a game, I will exercise judgement in getting it for my kids, and will further exercise caution when they start using it. So I think it is a good idea to have some rating on the game. It will help me. Let the company, based on its knowledge of their product, describe the nature of its product, and I as an adult parent will decide whether that is appropriate for my kids that I know very well. Fair enough?

My wife and I rarely drink alcohol, and until I tasted Mike’s Hard Lemonade when I was in my thirties, I would not have even known that it had alcohol!

I used to play a lot of games online through Xbox Live but now I rarely play online. I grew tired of playing mature games with children. It’s a big problem, enough so that underage kids have earned the nickname of squeakers because of their prepubescent voices. Players normally ridicule the squeakers to get them to leave but they often refuse, ruining the game for adult players. While there are ways to rate players and even report them for inappropriate behavior, Microsoft has so far refused to add underage as an offense or a rating. There is simply no way to report these kids for playing games they shouldn’t be playing. If parents won’t police their children, other gamers will but we aren’t given the opportunity to do so.

I attend midnight launches for some games and they often take place on weekdays during the school season. This does not deter some intrepid parents from bringing their underage kids to the launch of rated M games. These kids are frequently allowed to stay home from school the next day to play the games they shouldn’t be playing. No amount of government regulation will prevent those parents from buying the games for their kids. Only outright censorship could stop those parents. My favorite game retailer is Game Stop and I have seen their employees ask for ID when young folks try to buy a rated M game. I have also seen them refuse to sell games to underage kids.

Parents are the only valid targets for blame, not the gaming industry.

This is a function of our world today, where even parenting is done in 15-second spans. Instead of parents reading to their children, we have DVD rentals, for instance. Parents trying to purchase videogames for their children, for instance, can just look at the ESRB rating and make their decision based on that label.

Seemingly, reading the title and/or the backcover is too hard for these people.

Charges of corrupting youth led to Socrates’ execution… so yes, I think you’re quite right.

I guess that is too simple, eh? Laws are so much more official, and gets the State into the center of the action.

If we researched far enough, we’d probably find contemporary pundits who said the bloody Greek Tragedies were also corrupting youth.

So the debate goes on.