- EDITORIAL 4/27/99
- Remember, a beautiful life is merely prayer in motion, and a world without prayer has no center to it. God bless us all.
- This morning, as I wake up and realize it's again a new day, I view it with mixed emotions. Today, I will finish my new record. Today, I'll accomplish a goal that I set out to do in part, over 20 years ago. Usually, the last day of recording/mixing causes such reflections.
- However, today, they are mourning the death of several children in Littleton, Colorado.
- Today, I should be happy for myself, but rather, I cry for those in pain of their own. The loss of my son has made me so much more vulnerable to the pain of others, and I wish there was something anyone could do to ease the suffering that parents around the world are feeling for the loss of their children.
-
- Why did this have to happen, here, near my home?
- I believe it is a complex mix of apathy and frustration at actions taken long ago, the fruits of which are just now being seen. Failures of society and parents that were unseen and not thought of until these past days.
- These young men are responsible for their actions. I didn't create their environment, nor did you. However, we contributed to it, by our silence. When the elders warned of television, we ignored them. When those same elders warned of video games, of home movies, of negative music, we ignored them. Perhaps it was the delivery of their message, rather than the message it's self. Perhaps we are simply selfish, living for the moment, rather than for the ages. But in any event, we didn't listen. To our loss.
- Those boys had seen so many random violences on television, in the video games, in the movies, and to a degree in real life, that they became numbed to the pains of reality. Their world became a fantasy, a living video game. Living life in front of boxes, whether computer or television, they lost sight of flesh, compassion, and living. It is so much easier to yell at a box, because it doesn't yell back. Blood on a screen doesn't stain, one just turns it off, or replays the game. The box doesn't punish for misdeeds. The box merely sits and accepts whatever information, violence, or behavior is placed within it. No repercussions, no guidance, no assistance. Just inflow and outflow. We can go into the world anonymously, say what we wish to say, and retreat into our holes when the going gets difficult. Words have less meaning than ever before, because the box allows us to say whatever we wish without seeing the mental contortions and emotional distortions that are created on screen. Without seeing the result of our action, there is no responsibility to be taken.
-
The box is dispassionate, as many of our society have become.
- What about the music that is listened to by children and young people? It is equally destructive, mentally and emotionally. Artists look for shock value rather than humanitarian value. Ugly things must be said about our world, that is a given. I say them in my music too. However, the artist must accept a responsibility for the power given them by means of people buying their records. With that responsibility comes a feduciary obligation to society, to create and foster an environment for change, be it good or bad. Screaming about killing others, bi**es and 'ho's', advocating suicide, violence, and physical destruction have no redeeming value of anykind, good or bad. Change is important, the right to say whatever you want is an important value in our society. But with that comes responsibility.
-
- So are Hollywood and Silicon Valley to blame? No. Because they will only produce what we as a society will accept. They will only spend money producing products that we'll buy. For this reason, as a parent, I never will allow video games in my home, computer or otherwise.
- You and I, in an indirect manner, are to blame for what happened in Colorado. We, as a society, must create and define standards of what we will and won't accept in our entertainment. Free speech is critical, yet so is the right to live. Both are required in a democracy. Choose your entertainments carefully, choose your time with your children carefully. Now that you've read my angst, get up off your butt, and go spend some time with your children. Go into their room, sit on their bed, and talk to them. Take them to lunch from school one day. See them in their environment. Listen to their music without derogatory comment, rather, ask them what they think the artist is trying to say. Learn who they really are as best you can. Teenagers are difficult to understand, but you don't need to be their enemy. Be their friend, even from a distance. Remember, they are a reflection of you. As adults, we invest a great deal of time into our vocations so that our families might live well. But if we are not an active component in our family, then what value is our vocation that we labor at for the benefit of our family? I chose a 'lower' economic value in life over a greater familial value. Because the investment in my family will pay off for eons. My investment in my vocation only pays off every two weeks.
- Go love your children, right now.
- Raise your voices in outrage at what we are accepting as a society.
-
May peace prevail.
- Douglas Spotted Eagle
