Looking at Columbine

A detailed Summary of Looking at Columbine

Unfortunately, we are all too familiar with the massacre that took place in Littleton, Colorado on April 20th, 1999. That was the day that two teenage boys, armed with multiple firearms and pipe bombs, took on Columbine High School. By the end of the day, 13 people-the two killers included-were dead, and 23 others injured. Tragedies like these have seemed to become more frequent this past decade, yet every time it happens, the nation again finds itself asking "Why?". Fingers are pointed in every direction; some blame a lack of gun control, some blame the media, some blame popular music artists, and some blame violent video games. Obviously, there is no single cause of this problem, and all of the finger pointing at different corporations, organizations, and musicians is clearly doing us no good. It is all too easy for everyone to simply place the blame on someone else, and that's what we have been doing for too long. Perhaps it is time for America to take a good long look at itself, and search for the reasons why our teens see killing as an option.

One of the essays in Exploring Language suggests that it is not so much a problem with teens as it is with teen boys. One factor that is all too often forgotten is that the

One would think that by the twentieth century, America would have moved past such stereotypical sexist ideals, but we aren't. How often are "weak," or powerless males glorified? In how many movies does the protagonist simply duck for cover or cower in the corner when gunfire breaks loose? Never. The hero always whips out his weapon and returns fire until the villain is begging for mercy. It is fairly apparent that our society respects the strong and the powerful men. Could it be values like these that lead to tragedies such as the one in Littleton? It is values such as these that could be a stronger influence than we suspect, possibly causing unfair criticism to fall upon those who do not fit this cultural ideal.

So in the end, it really is not a problem with the media that is causing these teens to kill. It's a much deeper rooted problem that has to do with the values that are silently taught to the youth of our country. America's image of "ideal" men combined with the cruel politics of high school and the poor examples set by the adults is without a doubt a deadly recipe for disaster. But how can tragedies like the one at Columbine be prevented? Certainly not by the desperate search for scapegoats that is continuing today. America's parents need to start taking responsibility for their actions and teach their children values through demonstration. We need to get away from the ridiculous masculine ideals our country has. We need to make more of an effort to stop the deliberat

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Approximate Word count = 1013
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

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