AN EPIDEMIC OF VIOLENCE.

IN THE DAYS AND WEEKS FOLLOWING THE Columbine shootings, everyone walked around in a daze. Some watched everything on TV. Others didn't talk about it. We were all in shock. No one knew what to think.

I had written the editorial "Children Who Kill" after the Oregon shootings and thought I had some ideas about the roots of violence, but the Columbine shootings do not lend themselves to easy answers. We must, however, find the answers and make Columbine a turning point in the history of violence in US society.

In order to understand Columbine, I had to first answer the question of whether or not we are, in fact, a violent society. While this is a common belief, few of us know how frequent shootings like the Columbine incident really are and what the incidence of violence actually is in the US.

Following a two-year analysis of violence and children, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) issued a new policy in January 1999 recommending preventative measures to curtail the spread of what it calls an epidemic. This is the first time a US medical association has acknowledged that violence is a health issue, not only a criminal justice issue.

"Violence has become increasingly prominent ... in the United States, which has the highest youth homicide and suicide rates among 26 wealthiest nations in the world and one of the highest rates of homicide worldwide," the AAP says. While there is a general decline in US homicides nationwide, violence and violent injuries among children have not decreased.

Homicide and suicide have become the second and third leading causes of death of all teenagers, and the leading cause of death among black youths. Homicide rates for males 15 to 19 years of age increased 113 percent between 1985 and 1995. Teenagers today are more likely to die of gunshot wounds than of all natural causes combined.

According to the AAP, violent injury and death result far more often from altercations between family members and acquaintances than from robberies or other criminal activity.

To help the nation's pediatricians assess and screen patients, the new AAP policy identifies risk factors such as substance abuse problems, history of mental illness, family stresses that could lead to violence, and exposure to violence at home and in the media.

As part of the efforts to deter violence and violence-related injuries, the AAP suggests that pediatricians embark on a variety of advocacy efforts on behalf of children. These include support for quality, affordable child care, reduced corporal punishment, and reduced availability or elimination of handguns.

To prevent violence before it starts, the AAP also addresses research on early brain development and offers pediatricians guidance on age-appropriate development for children from birth through late adolescence.

What the AAP refers to when it mentions the importance of early brain and child development is the attachment process of the first three to five years of life. This is the critical period when the foundation is laid in the human psyche for trust, empathy, dependency, and optimism. It is the attachment to one consistent, warm, loving, and encouraging caregiver that also ensures the development of conscience.

Anthropologists tell us that the most violent tribes are those in which infants are not touched. Neurologists tell us that holding and carrying an infant is the most important factor in the development of normal neurological functioning. Biologists tell us that the early relationship between mammals and their young is fragile.

The organization Prevent Child Abuse America, formerly the National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse, suggests that child abuse and neglect are often major contributing factors in violence among adolescents and adults.

"We'd like to think that these devastating and brutal acts of violence were unavoidable and unpredictable, but that's often not the case," said Sidney Johnson III, executive director of Prevent Child Abuse America. "Most of the time, clues suggesting possible violent behavior had been making themselves known for years."

Johnson goes on to say, "The actions of the alleged perpetrators in Colorado [and, might we say, those who bullied them] would appear to be consistent with that of children holding rage and anger from a much earlier time in their lives who haven't been able to channel it in constructive behaviors. Typically, these children lack the ability to regulate their own emotions and the ability to empathize with others, sometimes resulting in suicide, substance abuse, violent behavior and a cold indifference to other human beings."

Robin Karr-Morse, author of the 1997 book Ghosts from the Nursery. Tracing the Roots of Violence, said, "Media coverage of these tragedies tends to treat violent behavior as if it suddenly emerges from a developmental void. To understand the tide of violent behavior typified by this tragedy, we must look at the first 33 months of life, which harbor the seeds of violence for a growing percentage of American children."

According to Johnson, the abuse and neglect that result in violent behavior take place in families of all classes, races, and ethnicities. While many people tend to think it only happens in poor families, the emotional neglect that results in the building of such rage among our children and teens is particularly prevalent in our middle class.

One way that we can abuse our children is by spanking them. The AAP suggests a reduction in corporal punishment as a recommended form of discipline. We cannot expect to give children the message of nonviolent problem solving if we do not practice it ourselves.

Moreover, spanking our children erodes their self-concept. Dr. Donald F. DeMoulin, a professor at the University of Tennessee and an expert in preventing violence in schools, believes that an unhealthy self-concept can lead a child down an antisocial path of destruction -- from outcast to isolation to rebellion and finally, to violence.

Bullying lowers a teen's self-concept. The bully himself or herself suffers from low self-esteem. Seeking solace from ridicule, the child associates with peers who have suffered the same fate. While this association provides the needed elevation of self-concept, it does so through negative means. The child may exhibit a brashness that may be mistaken for self-esteem, but the self-image is fed by destructive forces and is ultimately negative rather than nurturing.

According to Leon Botstein, president of Bard College, an unhealthy self-concept can be encouraged by the artificial environment of high school: "... the rules of high school turn out not to be the rules of life. Often the high school outsider becomes the more successful and admired adult. The definitions of masculinity and femininity go through sufficient transformation to make the game of popularity in high school an embarrassment. In no workplace, not even in colleges or universities, is there such a narrow segmentation by chronology.

"Given the poor quality of recruitment and training for high school teachers, it is no wonder that the curriculum and the enterprise of learning hold so little sway over young people. When puberty meets education and learning in modern America, the victory of puberty masquerading as popular culture and the tyranny of peer groups based on ludicrous values meet little resistance."

How much of this violence among our teens happens in schools? According to a recent report by the Department of Education, over 6,000 students were expelled in 1996 and 1997 for bringing guns to their schools. A 1995 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicated that 8 percent of all students reported bringing a gun to school in a 30-day period. One handgun control organization estimates that 44 incidents of violence in US schools involving firearms were reported in the media from September 1998 through May 1999.

Is it firearms that are the problem or are teens simply more violent ? There are approximately 192 million privately owned firearms in the US- 65 million of which are handguns. In 1996, 10,744 people were murdered in the US; firearms were used in two out of three of those murders.

Guns kept in the home for self-protection are 43 times more likely to kill a family member or a friend than to kill a person in self-defense. The presence of a gun in the home triples the risk of homicide in the home. The presence of a gun in the home increases the risk of suicide fivefold.

In 1995 alone, 35,957 Americans were killed with firearms (homicides, suicides, accidents). In comparison, 33,651 Americans were killed in the Korean War, while 58,148 Americans were killed in the Vietnam War.

In 1994, the firearm injury death rate among males 15 to 24 years of age was 32 percent higher than the motor vehicle injury death rate. In 1995,14 children ages 19 and under were killed with guns every day in the US.

In 1996, handguns were used to murder 2 people in New Zealand, 15 in Japan, 30 in Great Britain, 106 in Canada, 213 in Germany, and 9,390 in the US.

On April 27, 1999, President Clinton proposed gun legislation supported by the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence. The first of his proposed bills, the one requiring background checks for sales at gun shows, failed to pass the first time, but did ultimately pass because of presidential pressure. As of this writing, seven other bills remain to be passed.

Curiously, only 15 states in the US have Child Access Prevention (CAP) laws. These laws require gun owners living in households with minor children to store their guns locked and out of the reach of children. By contrast, following widespread outrage about a March 1995 shooting in Scotland in which 16 children and their teacher were killed, the British government passed a ban on handguns.

While it's obvious that the availability of guns in the US contributes to increased violence, is violence in the media also a risk factor for violence in society? According to Sylvia Ann Hewlett and Cornel West, authors of The War Against Parents, since 1960 more than 3,000 studies, involving almost 250,000 viewers, have evaluated television's effects on children and teenagers. The experts are in agreement. In the words of a leading researcher, Leonard Eron, "The scientific debate is over." A causal relationship between viewing violent programming and subsequent aggressive behaviors, including criminal activity, is real.

The average child watches 8,000 murders and 100,000 other acts of violence on television before entering the seventh grade. According to The Lion & Lamb Project, one long-range study involving 875 children showed that early viewing of violent television programs was positively related to later aggression -- including violent criminal offenses, spousal abuse, and child abuse.

Over the years researchers have shown how a particular movie or television drama can inspire imitative or copycat behavior. In 1979, bombing and extortion threats followed the broadcast of the TV movie Doomsday Flight. A few years later, at least one copycat killing followed airing of The Burning Bed. A teenager was run over and killed, and two others were seriously injured while imitating a stunt in the 1993 movie The Program. John Hinkley's shooting of Ronald Reagan was influenced by Taxi Driver. And the 1994 movie Natural Born Killers is in a class by itself, having inspired at least 11 copycat murders.

An article in the January issue of Pediatrics states, "American media contribute more to adverse health outcomes than to positive or prosocial ones." A recent National Television Violence Study examined nearly 10,000 hours of television programming over a three-year period and found that 61 percent contained violence, with children's programming being the most violent.

Evidence also suggests that many of the roots of violence in our youth, as well as the factors that put them at risk for violent behavior, are encouraged by the excesses of materialism in current US culture.

Our children are exposed to 20,000 television ads per year. There are now four 24-hour commercial channels totally devoted to children's programming. Films are peppered with advertising. In Sweden, commercials on television programming for children under 12 are prohibited by law.

Each year, teenagers view nearly 15,000 sexual references, innuendos, and jokes of which no less than 170 deal with abstinence, birth control, sexually transmitted diseases, or pregnancy. The so-called family hour of prime time television (8 to 9 p.m.) contains more than eight sexual incidents per hour, more than four times as many as in 1976.

Alcohol, tobacco, or illicit drugs are present in 70 percent of prime time network dramatic programs, 38 out of 40 top-grossing movies, and half of all music videos. Tobacco manufacturers spend $6 billion per year, and alcohol manufacturers $2 billion per year in all media, trying to entice young people to "just say yes."

As Ralph Nader said in a letter to Senator Trent Lott, who intends to convene a national conference on youth and culture, "... people in corporations are getting rich by promoting products to teenagers; corporations governed by incentives that impel them to respect no boundaries in exploiting the vulnerable minds of teenagers."

In the early 1980s, Ben Bagdikian's The Media Monopoly concluded that less than 50 companies had come to dominate the entirety of the US media, and as a result journalism was increasingly losing its ability to critically address the role and nature of corporate power in the US political economy. By the fourth edition of his book in 1992, mergers and acquisitions had reduced the number of dominant media firms to two dozen.

According to Robert McChesney, author of Corporate Media and the Threat to Democracy, since 1992 there has been an unprecedented wave of mergers and acquisitions among media giants; as a result, fewer than ten enormous vertically integrated media conglomerates now dominate US media. Time Warner, for example, the largest book and magazine publisher in the world, has annual sales of $28 billion. Time Warner owns Warner Bros., New Line Cinema, HBO, CNN, Turner Network, TNT, as well as movie theaters, retail stores, and amusement parks.

Time Warner, however, is not the largest media company in the world. This is News Corporation, whose chairman and CEO, Rupert Murdoch, is reported by Vanity Fair to have a net worth of $6 billion. Disney is the third media giant, with annual sales of approximately $25 billion. Viacom, owner of Nickelodeon, Simon and Schuster, Paramount, and Blockbuster, has annual sales of $6 to $13 billion. TCI, GE (NBC), Seagrams (Universal, Polygram), and Sony (Columbia, Tri-Star) complete the roster.

It's not a pretty picture. These statistics can be immobilizing, and current political and economic climate counts on our apathy. We must, however, do something. We are our only hope. As G. K. Chesterton says, "We must love society to want to change it." Let's change it. Here are some solutions:

If we are really going to value the importance of the first three years of life, we need universal prenatal care, a reduction in surgical and medicated births, public support of breastfeeding, and a renewed openness to touching, holding, and intimacy.

We can support national and local efforts to stop spanking and learn alternatives to punishment. A good place to start is with the organization that sponsored SpankOut, 1999, EPOCH (End Physical Punishment of Children). Contact them at EPOCH-USA, 155 W. Main Street, Suite 100-B, Columbus, OH 43215.614-221-8829. Fax: [phone]. E-mail them at: [e-mail]

We can identify societal resources for the development of good self-concept and nonviolent problem solving such as Prevent Child Abuse America. For information about child abuse prevention, call 1-800-CHILDREN or access the organization's Web site at www.childabuse.org

We can help children learn how to be conflict managers at school and at home. The Community Board Program offers programs, curricula, and publications that address nonviolent conflict resolution. Contact them at 1540 Market Street, Suite 490, San Francisco, CA 94102.415-552-1250. Fax: [phone]. Web site: www.mediate.com/cbp

Another organization with resources and curricula on nonviolent conflict resolution is the Institute of Peace and Justice, 4144 Lindell Boulevard, Suite 408, St. Louis, MO 63108. 314-533-4445.

We can discourage violent play. To transform children's war chests into toy chests, The Lion & Lamb Project cosponsors events such as Violent Toy Trade-Ins throughout the country. At the trade-ins, children bring in violent toys and work with artists to create a peace sculpture.

In addition, The Lion & Lamb Project sponsors Peaceable Play Days and Nonviolent Toy Fairs, which give children and parents opportunities to learn and remember ways of having fun that do not depend on violence as themes. To help communities organize their own events, the project has written Toys for Peace: A How-To Guide for Organizing Violent Toy Trade-Ins.

The Lion & Lamb Project is an organization concerned with violent messages stemming from television, movies, videos, music lyrics, arcade games, home computer and video games, on-line services, action figures, and war toys. They offer four workshops nationwide to help parents and educators transmit their own values of nonviolence to children. Contact them at 4300 Montgomery Avenue, Suite 104, Bethesda, MD 20814. 301-654-3091. Fax: [phone]. E-mail: [e-mail] Web site: www.lionlamb.org

To learn more about violence, and violence prevention, contact The Family and Community Critical Viewing Project, a partnership between the National PTA and the cable television industry. The PTA provides three videos, sponsors an antiviolence day, and holds training sessions for parents. To schedule a workshop in your community, contact your state PTA office. For materials, call 800-743-5355 or visit the program's Web site at www.ciconline.org or the National PTA's Web site at www.pta.org

We can view wholesome vidoes. Watch for the KIDS FIRST! seal of approval. To be approved, a video must contain no gratuitous sex or violence; no racial, gender, cultural, or religious bias; no unsafe behavior; no condescension towards children; and no verbal or physical abuse. KIDS FIRST! has approved over 1,600 titles. Ask your local video store to have a KIDS FIRST! display in the children's section. Contact KIDS FIRST! through the Coalition for Quality Children's Media, 112 San Francisco Street, Suite 305-A, Santa Fe, NM 87501. 505-989-8076. Fax: [phone]. E-mail: [e-mail] www.cqcm.org

We can be responsible about guns and educate our children about firearm safety. The Center to Prevent Handgun Violence suggests these four simple safety steps for parents.

1. Keep guns away from children. The safest thing for your family is not to keep a gun in the house. But if you keep a gun at home, unload it and lock it away. Keep all ammunition separate from the gun.

2. Make sure that your children know the dangers of guns. Teach them not to handle or to touch guns.

3. Talk to your children about guns and violence. Explain to them that we all have strong emotions like anger and fear, hut that these feelings can be expressed without striking others or using weapons. Demonstrate healthy ways to express anger and disappointment. Support your children when they use positive means for resolving conflict, such as:

   Talking about feelings rather than acting them out
   Making choices to avoid fights
   Getting help from trusted adults

4. Talk to your children about the differences between media violence and violence in real life.

We can become informed about firearm facts, firearm violence, and gun control. For advocacy information, see these Web sites:

   Handgun Control Inc. and The Center to Prevent
   Handgun Violence: www.handguncontrol.org
   Violence Policy Center: www.vpc.org: www.gunfree.org
   Cease Fire: www.ceasefire.org

We can educate our representatives about these issues and demand that special interests not override legitimate public concerns. If you want to access the phone numbers and E-mails of your representatives regarding firearm or any other legislation pertinent to families, you can call the Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3123 (Senate) or 202-225-3121 (House) or see the Web site at http://thomas.loc.gov/

We can fight consumerism and advertising to children. Ralph Nader's organization Commercial Alert was founded to oppose the excesses of commercialism, advertising, and marketing. Nader's book Children First: A Parent's Guide to Corporate Predators is available from Commercial Alert. The Web site is www.essential.org/alert/E-mail is [e-mail] or call 202-296-2787.

To create at least a level playing field so that special interests can less easily market to our children, we have to eliminate advertising in commercial programming for children. This means that we need to subsidize not-for-profit, commercial-free, nongovernment media.

The US is unique in the industrialized world in spending only $1.09 per capita on public broadcasting. By contrast, the United Kingdom spends $38.56, Canada $32.15, and Japan $17.71.

Public media ensures the possibility of public control of the airwaves. As it is now, more people manipulate the news than report it. There are today in the US more people working in public relations than there are working journalists. Several surveys suggest that press releases and PR-generated material account for between 40 and 70 percent of the news in today's media.

LET'S FACE IT. WE AREA VIOLENT, materialistic society, and this hurts our families. What can we do to change it? First, let's not be naive any longer about the commercial interests of the gun manufacturers, the tobacco manufacturers, and the advertisers on children's programming. Let's not be naive about the special monied interests that regularly finance and influence out elected representatives.

Special interests and consumerism seduce our children and confuse their values. And they challenge the American family. Whether it's our inability to spend time with our families because of economic pressures or the commercial interests that compete for our children's attention, we have to take back control. Society may be out of control, but we must not be. We must be outraged.

Social change only happens when small, committed groups of people get together to effect change. This is the only way it ever happens. As the environmentalists say, "Think globally; act locally." Let's see what we can do.

For a bibliography of sources used for the statistics in this editorial, see Mothering's Web site at www.mothering.com or call 505-984-6299.