Will Commission On Glorification of Violence Examine the Military?
U.S. Representative Alcee Hastings introduced H.R. 2924 to the House of Representatives yesterday. It’s a bill that would establish a commission “to study the culture and glorification of violence in America.” Dennis Kucinich and Donald Payne have signed on as cosponsors.
The thing about an issue like “the culture and glorification of violence” is that different people perceive the issue in very different ways. There isn’t anything inherently wrong about a commission to undertake a study of this kind, but in the past, panels focusing on this area have been very selective in their analysis. There are lots of easy targets for criticism for glorification of violence: Popular music, video games and movies, for instance. There are some other areas that have avoided sustained scrutiny from these panels. Religion and the military are two such areas.
Will this commission examine the role that the military plays in the glorification of violence in American culture? Will it examine religious influence in the justification of individual and institutional violence.
If not, why? Because those kinds of questions aren’t regarded as appropriate?
If that’s the case, then you’ve got one explanation for the culture and glorification of violence in America right there.
