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Posted by A. B. Dada on December 25th, 2005
According to SFGate.com, a judge has blocked the ban on the sale of violent video games to minors.
I really dislike the idea of someone assuming a legal title because of their age in years. There is much debate to be made in that area, but this is one place where I can never see government helping.
Video games have always been a target of politicians — they want to control manners and morality, which in the end gets them control over expression and speech. Video games are a form of art — art is expression, and expression is speech. There should never be a law censoring art or expression, even to “kids.”
If a minor is under 16, they can’t get to the mall or the store to buy the video game, in the first place. If they are getting there, the parent isn’t doing their job. Once they are over 16, I believe it can be argued that their freedoms have expanded beyond that of a child, and they should not be minors any more.
My other problem is governing what two consenting people do voluntarily. If a 12 year old is immature and the parents don’t want them buying violent video games (or beer or porn or cigarettes or heroin), the parents should be doing a better job of monitoring the child’s whereabouts. Yes, a parent must do this 24 hours a day.
I fully blame government nannyism for this “family crisis.” We have free day care (public schooling) until the age of 23. We have free food services (state paid lunches) available even for the wealthy. We have regulated babysitting services (broadcast television) so parents don’t have to interact with their children. We have regulated chaperone services (curfew laws) so parents don’t have to tend to their children in public.
You wonder why families are so irresponsible? Blame those who support these callous services — parenting is performed by the parents, by the extended family and in some cases by the church. It should never be community’s responsibility.
I don’t care about your children. I don’t know your children. Stop taxing me for your irresponsibility, I’d like to save my money to care for my children.