Associating Trump With Violence – YouTube
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After 2010 saw a 40 percent rise in the death of law enforcement officers in the US, government officials have this week moved to resolve the issue and offer better protection to those who serve their community. Police representatives have come under increasing fire while in the line of duty, and are currently shouldering the burden of a growing unrest and ill conduct that discerns contemporary society. While the vast and unchallenged presence of firearms is undoubtedly significant, there is also the issue of people’s diminishing respect for figures of authority.
Declining Values in Liberal Times
It is all too convenient to attribute the rise in violent crime with the existence of firearms, but this does not make any allowance for human behavior and values. Guns are clearly dangerous and potentially fatal weapons, so there is always likely to be concern and instances of misuse when they are so prevalent within a culture or community. However, were they not to exist, then humans who choose to perpetrate acts of violence would simply find a different methodology, and use this instead to suit their purpose.
So, we must address the values and attitudes of people who use guns, and maximize these findings to cultivate a more socially suitable behavior. If we look at society as a whole, then there is a clear degeneration in the conduct of young adolescents and teenagers, which is reflective of both their environment and a decreasing level of respect for their elders. This individual ethos is conditioned in early childhood, and if encouraged or unchecked then it will manifest itself though violent or anti-social tendencies in later life.
Historically, the struggle between law and criminal behaviour is one that has been both prominent and persistent. It has been a global conflict which has been contested differently depending on the individual country or culture, and has seen many attempts by governing bodies to minimize criminal conduct and successfully reprimand and rehabilitate the perpetrators of crime. However, despite the variety of approaches from law enforcements agencies to uphold specific legislation, crime continues to harm society and its erstwhile citizens.
The main issue in the fight against crime is the simple matter of law and its implementation. Law and legislation is created and implemented to best fight criminal behavioural trends, and is then enforced by police and government officials as rigidly as possible. However, while the application of law must be to the letter and maintain a clarity of process, those who wish to defy the law are not bound by the restrictions of duty and transparency. Unfortunately, the nature of law and its application means that it will always be easier to break than it will be to uphold.
Law in Contemporary Society
The levels of crime reported and discussed on daily news bulletins throughout the US is currently at an unprecedented level, and although this has something to do with the vast amounts of media outlets that can be accessed it should not detract from the fact rising crime is a troublesome social issue. This trend is especially prominent amongst instances of violent crime, such as aggravated assaults and armed robberies, and this type of crime is also the most significant in terms of being targeted by government bodies and their legislation.
Of all the criminal activity that causes concern amongst society, it is undoubtedly violent crime that remains the most pertinent. The statistics for violent crime in the US have fluctuated over the previous 20 years, rising, falling and then rising again since the turn of the century. There were an estimated 1.8 million instances of violent crime reported in 1995, which reduced to 1.3 million in 2003. This approximate figure has risen again to more than 1.4 million in 2009, prompting concerns of a further increase and gradual decline of social conditions.
There have been several theories forwarded for increased violence amongst society’s members, some of which have been developed since an initial explosion of violent felonies in the 1960’s. The most forward thinking and relevant today is George Gerner’s renowned cultivation theory, which emerged from his experiments and research conducted over a 20 year period. His project involved looking at the effects of television and social media has on impressionable young minds, and their reaction and understanding of concepts such as politics, ideology and violence.
A Relevant and Innovative Study
The reason that Gerbner’s work remains so relevant is the focus from contemporary society on the frequency with which young children play video games. The development of games consoles and games with violent tendencies began to peak in the early 1990’s, coinciding with the sudden increase in instances of violent crime. Gerbner’s studies examined television and media outlets in how they influenced people’s thoughts and actions, and although violence and the effects of violence were a portion of his work, his findings were significant none the less.