The Youth of America

Police in cities across the USA are linking the recent jump in the nation's violent-crime rate to an increasing number of juveniles involved in armed robberies, assaults and other incidents.

Ordinarily one looks directly at the social influences upon these children to find a place to blame. But with incidents like these, we have to look beyond the home, and realize that it is not simply violent movies and video games that impress upon the younger generation.

Personally I feel that violent sections of culture get an unfair amount of blame placed upon it. Who amongst us really looks at the main character of Grand Theft Auto and wants to live that life? Who watches a horror film like The Hills Have Eyes and decides that a life of serial killing sounds appealing?

No, we need to look at cultural icons that are more appealing, trusting, and friendly with the children of the world. And to this effect I believe that it is time that we examine just how much we can trust one of our most enduring childhood characters: The Hamburgler.

Though he positions himself as a modern day Robin Hood who steals burgers from the rich to give to the poor, The Hamburgler is nothing more than a false prophet who endangers our youth not only by endorsing robbery, as well as poor eating habits.

The Hamburgler refused to respond to these allegations, going so far as to mock this writer but not simply offering a ‘No Comment,’ but instead simply saying ‘Robble, robble, robble’ over and over again during the interview.

With McDonald’s advertisements bookending every Saturday morning cartoon it is no wonder that our society finds itself in the sorry state it is today.

So while others may point towards easy targets like Quentin Taratino movies and first person shooter games, I simply ask that we all take a step back and realize what icons are brought before our children first, and just how are we prepared to deal with them.


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To read more about the harrowing statistics, click below:

Police tie jump in crime to Juveniles