Since 2002, I don't think that our culture and values have changed all that much. And if they were to be any different, I would say that it hasn't changed for the better. Americans are instilled with a certain fear where we expect the worse to happen and that is rarely the case. Yes, there have been numerous tragedies that have occurred, but the likelihood of something happening like that to daily, eventually to everyone, is very slim. Throughout the past decade, crime rates have gone down; yet, the fear of crime has gone up. How does that work? Like Michael Moore said, "people with this much fear should have such easy access to guns and ammo." Why? Because what is truly to fear?
Why are we so fearful of the unknown? Because society has such a strong influence on the people around them. Whether or not you believe that the media affects how you go about your daily life, in the end, it does in fact impact everyone. We are told what is right and what is wrong. We are told who is normal and who is different from the rest of us. We are told what social status is acceptable and what social status is not. Culture and values can change depending on where you are from, but overall how different can they really be when everyone witnesses what is going on in the country they call home.
The documentary showed us that everyone is affected by tragedies in a certain way and everyone has their own way of dealing with them. Nearly everyone interviewed in the documentary believed that gun control doesn't have to be strictly regulated and it is okay, even encouraged, to keep a loaded gun near you at all times. Is that the way to go about your fears though? Who is to say they have the right answer to this question? No one. In the end, people are going to do whatever they need to do in order to feel safe. When it comes down to it, they will protect themselves before anyone else.
I enjoyed your post about the fear of our nation regarding gun control. Your point of crime going down but fear going up raises many concerns to our culture. Other countries don’t have this same feedback so why are we getting it? I think that the fear has grown exponentially due to other citizens. One person sees fear in another and feels more unsafe because of them feeling unsafe. This is a weird concept but needs to be dealt with. Your point about people protecting themselves regardless is relevant to Moore’s film. People in America see violence and then experience fear. Our current way of dealing with that is extreme compared to other countries. There were many great points that I agreed with on this topic.
ReplyDeleteYou asked a lot of good questions in this post. I like how you firmly mentioned that society and media really do influence everybody during their everyday lives. There may not be anything to fear, but people will do what they think they need to do. Sometimes this fear can be good, sometimes it can be bad. It all really leads down to what that fear drives people to do. I personally believe that less deaths by firearms would have occurred if people with so much didn't have access to guns, but who knows.
ReplyDeleteI have a similar response to the media having a huge influence on our daily lives. TV shows and movies are a huge part in who we become and what we believe in. Kids grow up watching crime shows where guns are used by the “good” people killing the “bad” people. I believe that shows like these influence people and how they portray the world. Overall I think that gun control should be strict in our society.
ReplyDeleteI was also interested in Michael Moore's perception of fear in our society. It's really disappointing how the media portrays so much violence and that people feel the need to be afraid. So often people are scared of things like going into a certain neighborhood or being around certain groups of people, when in reality the risk is probably not that dramatic. Sometimes this fear might be valid, but as shown in Bowling for Columbine, in many instances it is unreasonable. Just this weekend I overheard a man in a restaurant talking about how relaxed gun restrictions have made Janesville more dangerous. "Everybody has a gun now. I had to protect myself." It seems like people have reacted to their fears by buying guns, and in turn more people are buying guns to protect themselves from the people who have guns.
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