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IMAGES IN MEDIA: The Glorification of Violence
We, who witness this descent into the use of media images that invite and perpetuate the separation of the soul from the body..., must seek again and again to reunite all parts of ourselves with the sacred.
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When we view images of violence, we need to understand that there is desecration as it relates to the body, and there is desecration as it relates to the soul. Both involve a diminishment of what is sacred in its origin, and both compel the viewer of 'such images to temporarily and to varying degrees to identify with the perspective of the images being presented. This distortion of the meaning of sacredness exists in a widespread way where it concerns sexuality and the use of explicit sexual images that are completely separate from the holiness and purity of the heart's love. Pornography can also apply to gratuitous images of violence where, instead of portraying the deep regret and sorrow concerning the misuse and abuse of human dignity and the sacred origins of life, these images invite fascination with horror, fear of reprisal for engaging in protest, and an incentive to respond to violence that seems unstoppable with counter-violence as if it were the only means of response.
We, who witness this descent into the use of media images that invite and perpetuate the separation of the soul from the body and the soul from the conscious self that is aware of meaning, must seek again and again to reunite all parts of ourselves with the sacred, never forgetting that what is done to the body is not separate from what is done to the sacredness of life. All who are conscious can make this choice - to agree to support and magnify individual freedom of expression as an inalienable human right, but not where it becomes harmful to the furtherance of health, growth, and the awareness of life's sacredness. Such a prescription of values does not mean a censorship of others which would infringe the rights of individuals to be who they are in the consciousness that they hold. Rather, it would encourage all who are aware, and especially those who seek to represent the public to the public, to hold a higher standard of what is useful and beneficial to express, and what is deemed unnecessary, gratuitous, or harmful. This acting on behalf of others, while it may restrict the use of certain publications and images, at the same time elevates the level of discourse that can take place within a society around problematic situations and issues.
Related Writings:
Violence in America
Media, Culture, and the Language of the Heart
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