Last week as I was thinking about Veterans Day,
my reflection was interrupted by a television commercial promoting a popular
video game. The product was one of those ‘shooter’ types. You know, the kind
where the object of the game is to blast as many bad guys as you can. The
longer I watched the commercial, the angrier I got. But it wasn’t because of
the way the ad was glorifying violence.
Like most other men, I was conditioned to accept war-related
violence long ago. I vividly recall as a pre-teen hiding in a backyard bush
with my Thompson submachine gun blasting enemy soldiers in my mind. Except for
the toy in my hands, everything was imagined, though occasionally reinforced by
war movies I learned to love watching on TV with dad. These days however, the
realism depicted in video games provides opportunities for deeper immersion of
the combat experience, but without penalty. And that’s what ticks me off.
I was mad watching that TV commercial because shoot ‘em
up video games disrespect the actions and sacrifices made by real combat
veterans. In the comfort of your living room when you get ‘killed’, it’s all in
the name of fun; all you have to do is start over. There’s no reset button
though for real life service men and women (yes, women) who are exposed to real
inhumane atrocities like watching your buddy’s face get half blown off or witnessing
a dying soldier bleed out through holes in his chest following a nightmarish firefight.
Nobody thinks about reality when playing a video game with cool music running
in the background and warm pizza waiting on the table.
Some of us know Veterans Day, unlike Memorial Day which
honors the men and women who died while serving, is intended to honor and thank
all who served in the U.S. Armed
Forces. Near our nation’s capitol in Arlington, Virginia, Veterans Day starts
at precisely 11 a.m. and includes a wreath-laying at the Tomb of the Unknowns
and continues inside the Memorial Amphitheater with a parade of colors by veterans
organizations and speeches from important people. It’s all nice and helps us
feel good about the sacrifices airmen, marines, sailors and soldiers make for
us. And some of us actually reflect on those sacrifices.
But I wonder just what do armed forces veterans feel about
the video games we play? Especially combat
veterans – the ones who were ordered to kill or try to kill other human beings.
In particular, the ones who could actually see the people they were trying to
zap. And the ones who were subjected to the trauma of knowing someone was
trying to kill them in return. I wonder what they think about our
gee-this-sure-is-fun shoot ‘em up culture, as we sit on cushy sofas in cozy
living rooms, pointing imaginary weapons at benign TV screens, ‘pause’ button
at the ready in case the phone rings?
It’s embarrassing enough that, as a nation, we pay copious
amounts of feel-good lip service to how much we appreciate our combat veterans.
Then we summarily short them whole-sale when it comes to providing the support
resources they need on their return to civilian life. But must we add insult to
injury by marginalizing the very people who put their lives on the line for our
freedom by pretending we know what it’s like just because we kill or get killed
by undead zombies?
And this isn’t just about our kids. I’m angry at parents
who sit by mindlessly as their children purchase these videos of mayhem and believe
it’s harmless fun because no one gets hurt. It’s not.
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