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Rolling Cyber Debate Question for John Hagelin from October 25, 2000
From Web White & Blue (http://www.webwhiteblue.org)

Question:
I am concerned about violence in popular media, but as a believer in the First Amendment I've been troubled by some candidates' proposed solutions. What specifically would you do, and how can you claim any government sanction isn't a form of censorship?
Submitted from Steven from St. Paul, Minnesota, via America Online

Answer:
I am also deeply concerned about rampant, excessive violence in the media. Research shows that a child's exposure to excessive violence has long-term behavioral consequences.

The question is, though, what is the right solution? Certainly, when Hollywood and the media are engaged in reprehensible practices--e.g., when they target their marketing of gratuitous violence to children--they should be held strictly accountable.

However, there is no substitute for parents' active involvement in the lives of their children, including monitoring and selecting the content of their children's Internet, video games, and other media. The technology exists to help parents monitor and screen their children's Internet access, and parents should be trained and encouraged to use it.

Ultimately, as an educator running for President, I must emphasize that EDUCATION--not censorship--is the key to promoting higher-quality media content. Hollywood, which is profit driven, serves the media market. The media churn out such offensive, gratuitously violent material because the market supports it. If and when, through proper education that truly develops the student, we increase the demand for high-quality information and entertainment content, Hollywood will produce it.

My campaign is dedicated to a moral and ethical reawakening of our great nation--to revitalizing America from the "inside out"--through educational innovations that truly develop the mind, body, and behavior, expand comprehension, and uplift the life of our nation.

Gratuitous violence in the media, and other demeaning and low-quality content, is really a DEMAND-SIDE problem. Until we tackle the problem at its roots by lifting the viewing standards of all our citizens, Hollywood will continue to find ways to exploit our weakness.

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