
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, June 11, 1995                   TAG: 9506140030
SECTION: EDITORIALS                    PAGE: D-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

DOLE'S RIGHT

IN CASTIGATING Hollywood the other day, Senate Majority Leader Robert Dole may have been shoring up his presidential credentials with the Republican Party's religious right. That doesn't mean what he said is in error. The American entertainment industry's fascination with ultraviolence is indeed deplorable.

Too often in the movies, on television, in "gangsta rap," the point seems to be to depict gratuitous violence as graphically and gruesomely as possible. Moreover, a growing body of evidence suggests that a steady diet of such fare, particularly for children, can affect behavior.

Too often, violence is portrayed, falsely, as the most practical method for settling disputes. Too often, as well, violence is portrayed as if it had no lasting consequences.

This is not an argument for censorship, for government restrictions on what can be said or shown or sung. It is an appeal for self-restraint on the part of the industry. And an appeal to parents to take charge of what their children see and hear.

In Minnesota, the state medical association has organized a campaign to inform parents and young people of how exposure to depictions of violence can lead impressionable children to become desensitized to the impact of violence, and to start thinking of it as an acceptable way to behave. The endeavor is commendable, and should be tried elsewhere, including Virginia.

Meanwhile, Minnesota has no monopoly on the tips offered by that state's medical association. Any parent can take advantage of the suggestions. Among them:

Set limits on the amount of time children spend watching television or movies. Select the programs that your children watch, and don't allow indiscriminate channel-surfing. Don't keep TV sets in a central location in the home or in children's bedrooms. Watch with children, and discuss the issues, including how on-screen conflicts might have been settled more peacefully and realistically.

The suggestions might seem simple. But the consequences of not paying heed to kids' viewing and listening habits can be anything but simple.

by CNB