The Historiography Of American Violence - Research Paper Example

The Historiography Of American Violence Violence seems to be a recurring theme in the history of the country. Sadly, violence has even been called as American as cherry pie (Wessinger, 19). What this is suggesting is that violence is so prevalent across the country that people are beginning to view violence as a regular lifestyle situation. However, despite how common violence is in America, what are the root causes which create acts of violence? The research evidence suggests that it is due to social misconceptions, the high volume of violent video games, the need for social and group belonging, and as an outcome of excess alcohol. It seems that whether it is adults or children, exposure to violence is routine. Two additional experts in sociology agree that the United States has always been an excessively violent country (Leonard and Leonard, 99). Contemporary society experiences all different types of violence, including sexual abuses, carrying weapons in school grounds, vandalism, theft, and many other destructive human behaviors. Leonard and Leonard again suggest that violence is often overlooked and historians have not done well enough of a job to get Americans educated about certain social and cultural issues. Therefore, violence continues as a product of lack of social education. Violence in America is also attributed to video games which depict various characters in violent situations, along with the violent graphics which accompany them. However, there is evidence that children do not believe that they are being impacted by violent video game play (Olson, Kutner and Warner, 55), which might also add support to the belief that there is a lack of social education. For example, students are continuously hazing and harassing other students in modern society (Adolescence, 438). If youths who play violent video games are taking their aggressions out on other students or peers but believe that the content of the game is not affecting them, there could be a sort of social denial occurring which is widespread. Perhaps this is because people in America do not really know how to make positive changes so they just wait for another to assist them in the process. In the end, with this philosophy, nothing seems to be getting done effectively. Is the answer to ending childhood violence (even though children are not the only document players of video games) simply regulating the content of video games? This is a major industry with a great deal of profitability, therefore in terms of satisfying the need to sustain businesses, preventing the distribution of these entertainment products might cause violence in itself when youths feel their personal liberties are being taken away. Is the key to adjust education in the home and the classroom to discuss that video games and its graphic imagery is just for recreation and should never be considered outside of the gaming environment? This does not seem to have much success, however there is no solid proof that rising instance of violence in America can be positively attributed to violent video game play. Excess alcohol is also attributed to the rising instances of violence in this country. A recent study conducted by clinical researchers identified that men often attempt to show their more masculine and aggressive side when drinking alcohol (Peralata and Cruz, 109). The authors offer that there is a social expectation for the male gender role and the pressures of being expected to conform to these behaviors make the person consume alcohol. Using the alcohol as a release for tension and stress, sometimes through aggressive behaviors, the male drinker becomes more violent. This would theoretically occur when there are social demands on the drinker to be “virile, tough, strong, confident, respected, and heterosexual” (Cruz et al). Violence as an outcome of drinking is not only behavioral, the same study identified that alcohol consumption tends to cause violent behavior by altering brain chemistry (Cruz et al). Society generally has the belief that alcohol can cause aggressive and violent behaviors, however one need only enter local supermarkets and convenience stores to notice that alcohol is widely available. This could then be another reason why violence is occurring so frequently: The ease of getting alcohol from virtually any local retailer. This could be why there is so much violence in today’s universities when students are using alcohol as recreational tools. It is important to explore alcohol further as the cause of some of America’s problems with violence. A 2000 study using surveys from students at over 140 universities and colleges identified that more than half of the students engaged in binge drinking as part of regular university and campus lifestyle (Morris and Maisto, 168). Some of the students in this study even had gone on binge drinking episodes two or three times in a two week period, where four to five drinks were being consumed at a time. These are overwhelming statistics, which might give further support to the previous assessment that violence in America might just actually be caused by excess alcohol consumption. If a student is drinking large volumes of liquor, and not getting the necessary sleep to perform in studies and relationships, there is likely going to be changes occurring within the brain which could drive any number of unusual or erratic behaviors. The least of which is violence. This is also closely associated with gang relationships, which is where a great deal of America’s violence occurs all across the country today. One expert says it plainly, “groups are the essence of life in society” (Henslin, 156). Also, there are many experts in psychology who suggest that social belonging is a very vital need for people under Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (Morris and Maisto). Plainly put: People need group affiliation. Therefore, they are likely to mold their values and beliefs based on how they perceive others view them. This seems to be what group affiliation is all about. Therefore, if gang members are looking to others to give them support and build their self-esteem, they are likely to act as the majority of the group is acting. If many of the people find personal satisfaction in behaving violently, those who are looking for a sense of group belonging will likely just follow the majority crowd. It would also seem that part of the problem is the high volume of poverty which is occurring in the country. Henslin again identifies that one of every five children, as of 2005, lives in poverty. This is 20 percent of all children in the entire United States. Living in poverty does not give children opportunities for better education or better job opportunities, therefore these poor students may turn toward gangs since they cannot achieve success because of their economic backgrounds. If this was a legitimate cause of rising violence, the problem may simply be solved by ensuring that social programs are created which give poor children better opportunities and better education. There is also a great deal of social exclusion which seems to occur in the United States today, with certain demographic backgrounds excluding other groups. For example, the divide between the wealthy and working poor seems to be getting larger and larger every year in this country, and this social division would surely create stress and other emotional problems for those who are not in more fortunate economic situations. An entire system which provides such a division between demographics could cause others to act out of jealousy (or other emotions) to strike against those who are in better social or financial situations. Seeing another man driving an expensive car and escorting a well-dressed woman into a luxury restaurant might just be the catalyst which drives a normal person to act out aggressively in a fit of violence against the couple. This would suggest that there is animosity as the cause of some of America’s violence which is created by the social class divisions in contemporary society. Clearly, there are many potential contributing factors to violence in America, however it would seem that changing social beliefs, educating masses of the population in statistics and behavior modification, and reducing alcohol consumption as a means of coping with everyday life might be the solutions to minimizing violent behavior in this country. It is unrealistic to curb the distribution of alcoholic beverages, for this very profitable industry, just to keep people from drinking it in the event that they might act aggressively or hostile toward others. There should be sweeping social change to show people how they can control their own alcohol consumption and act with an individualistic viewpoint rather than following the actions of a crowd in the pursuit of self-identity and belonging. There is clearly a problem with violence in this country if it is been compared to being as common as cherry pie and something must be done quickly in order to prevent instances of violence from rising more than ever before. The evidence is overwhelming as to how to begin addressing it. Bibliography Adolescence. (2007). “Violence in America’s Schools: Understanding, Prevention, and Responses”. Vol. 42, Iss. 166. 2007. Accessed Apr 20 2009 from ProQuest Database. Henslin, James M. Sociology: A Down to Earth Approach. 6th ed. A&B Publishing. 2005. Leonard, I.M. and Leonard, C.C. “The historiography of American violence”. Homicide Studies. Thousand Oaks. Vol. 7, Iss. 2. 2003. Accessed Apr 21 2009 from ProQuest Database. Morris, C.G. and Maisto, A.A. Psychology: An Introduction. 12th ed. Pearson Prentice Hall. 2005. Olson, Cheryl K., Kutner, Lawrence A. and Warner, Dorothy E. “The role of Violent Video Game Content in Adolescent Development: Boys’ Perspectives”. Journal of Adolescent Research. Vol. 23, Iss. 1. 2008. Accessed Apr 21 2009 from ProQuest Database. Peralata, R.L. and Cruz, M. J. “Conferring Meaning onto Alcohol-Related Violence: An Analysis of Alcohol Use and Gender in a Sample of College Youth”. Journal of Men’s Studies. Vol. 14, Iss. 1. 2006. Accessed Apr 21 2009 from ProQuest Database. Wessinger, Catherine L. Millennialism, Persecution, and Violence: Historical Cases. Syracuse University Press, Syracuse NY. 2000. Read More