Editor, Gazette-Journal:

Freedom of speech, is it a right without responsibility? Many people will give theories concerning recent events in Connecticut and similar events around the country, but none will unfortunately fix this problem. Our children and grandchildren face a much different threat than we did as children in the ’50s and ’60s, a country that is so divided and self-absorbed no one is looking at the big picture.

Television was simple as a child, mostly family entertainment, and what violence there was seldom if ever was graphic. The news was limited to the local paper, magazines and the nightly news all informed you in maybe one hour a day. Kids played cowboys or combat, generating most of the action with their mouths and imaginations. Crime existed—true enough—but most folks will tell you punishment was the goal, not economics. Mental health seemed different also; dealing with far fewer environmental factors is my amateur guess.

Movies, video games, network TV and all forms of news fall under the protection of the First Amendment, a right that never could have foreseen the world we live in today. Electronic news media exercises no compassion for victims and sensationalizes tragic events by 24/7 coverage unhealthy for those going through these types of events and stimulating to a damaged mind. Movies and video games treat people as if they are idiots, asserting a rating letter on a movie or game will keep young minds safe.

Parents often are too lazy or can’t see the harm. Special Forces are said to play video games to desensitize themselves … I don’t know, but graphic, over-the-top mass murder is not what a healthy, much less damaged mind needs. Children and adults can be wowed by special effects, I would think.

My point is simple: No one thing makes a person do what seems to be a trend today, but we can take responsibility for our actions and lessen some of the negative influences. Freedom without responsibility is anarchy.

S.J. Mehaffey

Gloucester, Va.