You have to watch a lot of violence in order to become desensitized to it...

Dear David,
How do you feel about all the violence that seems to be essential in all the big block buster movies and lots of tv shows? I read a funny quote from a cartoon where the character says "You have to watch a lot of violence in order to become desensitized to it."  I don't want to be desensitized to it. It makes me feel like the world is faling apart. How do you feel?
~Fear of Falling

Dear Fear,
Strangely enough - I just had a friend give me a subscription to Entertainment Weekly and I thought: " No one is witty. Everyone is ready to blast their way out of any situation with a gun or a machete." I think it's a lot like the decline of the Roman Empire and the bloody entertainment in the Coliseum in Rome. Our bloody entertainment is fortunately on film, but people seem to need it. I think it's because they're bored and not in danger. They are not in any real trouble in this country so they need to be worded over emotionally. Increasingly so. I should add this is young men for the most part, who do not need to serve in the military. I was brought up when the draft was compulsory. A very different world where entertainment was largely about a safe home life. I must add however I have great confidence in the young people of our country. I don't think they will blindly let their country fall apart. They are much more aware of fairness and kindness than my generation was.