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Decreasing Violence in America Essay

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Decreasing Violence in America

Today in St. Paul two people were murdered. It has been reported that the two were fighting with a third party about a phone call that was made. The suspect is in custody and the case is under investigation,” a reporter in the ten o’clock news reports. “Spouse and child abuse are on the rise.

This year alone over ‘6 million men, women, and children were victims of severe physical attacks from their spouses or parents’(article 16)*,” another reporter reports. Is it just me or does this seem like something that is all too often heard on the news? The violent acts in the United States are out of control. But what can be done about it, and how much worse are things going to get? It seems to me that what is …show more content…

Just think of the major world events that happened last couple years; Columbine, the Oklahoma City bombing, Jonesboro, the increase of gang violence, or even the racist incidents that happened at Champlin Park last year.

All of these huge events involves at least one violent reaction. Turn on the television for half an hour, the amount of violence, assertiveness, or aggression you will notice in cartoons, sitcoms, or even on the news will be extremely high. We are being exposed to violence more and more every day, and a lot of times I don’t think people even realize that they are being exposed. Watching wrestling or a sport on television are two examples of this. It seems like society is starting to see violence as something normal.

A person getting murdered is no longer headline news, it takes a immature kid to go and shoot eight classmates of his in order to open people’s eyes. People have become so used to hearing about someone being unable to control themselves and lashing out at someone that they don’t even turn their head anymore when they hear about it. Violence, aggression and assertiveness are an everyday part of life now. Violence, and aggression are learned behaviors. “...aggressive behavior is learned very early in life and continues with the individual over many years,” (article 18)*. Just like a parent teaches a child to say please and thank you and be considerate of others, they can teach them violence.

A parent is

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