Progress is made in quality of life
There is some good news and some bad news this weekend. We’ve had some rain and every little bit helps. That’s good news, very good news in fact.
The bad news is, we have had non-stop reports of the tragedy in Newtown, Conn., and the almost unbelievable loss of lives with no explanation. The grief and sense of helpless loss the parents of the dead children must feel is beyond my wildest comprehension. To lose the adults is an indescribable tragedy, but why anyone would want to take the lives of 20 innocent children leaves me at a complete loss of understanding.
The president stated we have had too many of these incidents, but no one seems to have an answer. As with all such tragedies, we will search for answers but all will be speculation. The loss, the sadness, the pain will haunt the grieving families for a lifetime and we are helpless to understand or console them. What follows in this article are my thoughts based on the way I was raised, the experience of being the father of two sons and now being a grandfather with six grandchildren under the age of 19. When you can look back over 77 years of change and you have a grandson the age of the children in the Connecticut Sandy Hook School, you have to give more than just a passing thought to how you got where you are and how you managed to escape that type of tragedy in your life.
You have to start by giving thanks to a gracious GOD who sacrificed HIS Son for all those that can accept and believe in JESUS as the Christ. Then it follows as my sister and I frequently discuss how fortunate we were to come into a family where we were wanted and cared for by parents who sacrificed material personal possessions so we could have opportunity to make choices with our lives that were not available to them. Both she and I have tried to pass on similar opportunities for our children while keeping material goals within reason.
One of the things that surprises me most, as I reminisce, is the achievements in electronics and electronic games in the period of less than 50 years. My sons were given electronic games like Pong and other such games which developed skills of reflexes and coordination but did not have true to life violence of war and street fighting now avail- able in my grandchildren’s era. From Pong to the current volume of War Games is a graphic leap that sells the games and produces millionaires and billionaires but it is hard not to wonder if the potential impact on young people justifies our ready acceptance of these games as “entertainment.”
I confess to having never played one of the games or even observed my grandchildren playing them, but the violence seen in the commercials intended to sell them seems evidence enough that they could influence a young unstable mind in a negative direction. When you see an ad of a man using his cell phone as if it is a life and death situation as he plays a game on the phone, it is time to question the purpose of the game. It has been interesting for us to watch because my two sons have used totally different manners in handling video games with their children.
If people choose to buy the violent war games and other games of that nature, they are well within their right. What I do question is whether we actually can measure the short-term or long-term effect of the game on the individual. My concern is not to say they are a detriment, but only wonder if they desensitize a player to the violence depicted on the screen. Do these violent games contribute to the mindset we see lived out in situations like Colorado or Connecticut?
We have made a lot of progress in the quality of life since I was youth, but we have also lowered many social standards during that time. I remember when retail stores didn’t open on Sunday — there were things called Blue Laws — and sexual promiscuity was not boldly displayed on television as the normal way of life. My western heroes didn’t even kiss the ladies they rescued. Someday, we will be able to add “I remember when Benton County was actually dry.”
Maybe I’ve been around too long, but I remember believing in our government’s concern for our citizens and I’m not too sure about that now. I remember growing up when we were all “equally poor.” Now we are all equally wealthy and don’t even know it.
When you are the writer, this is called “musing.” When you are the reader, it’s called “rambling.” Have a good week regardless.
••• Editor’s note: Leo Lynch is an award-winning columnist. He is a native of Benton County has deep roots in northwest Arkansas. He is a retired industrial engineer and former Justice of the Peace. He can be contacted at prtnews@nwaonline.com.