ClintonVania

I recalled recently one of the things that I seriously dislike about Hillary Clinton. On the issue of freedom of speech, I believe that all art forms should be free of government controls or interference. Censorship is, in my opinion, not only wrong but damaging to the social development of our society. Voluntary censorship to reach the widest crowds possible, as in the movie industry, is acceptable as long as there are no governmental civil or criminal consequences when one wishes not to self-censor. A system of ratings is fine for the quick reference of parents who wish to control what their children are exposed to (good luck with that), but ultimately the responsibility should be on the consumer/viewer/player (or their guardian) for choosing what they consume.

Violent video games have been blamed for violent kids in the last decade or so mainly because they have arisen as a predominant medium, much in the same way that comic books, movies, heavy metal, and television have each in their time been accused of making kids violent. As if children were pacifists before. It really depends upon the temperament of the individual child, which is a case of parentage (in one sense) and parentage (in another sense).

Hillary Clinton sponsored a bill, S. 2126 [109th]: the "Family Entertainment Protection Act", which provides stiff fines and mandatory community service for anyone caught selling a game that has been rated "Mature","Adults Only" or "Rating Pending" to anyone under 17 years of age. As I said, this would be a government-mandated punishment for violating the dictates of a censor. This is a far stiffer control than that applied (voluntarily) to the movie industry or (also voluntarily) to the comic book industry.

That rubs me the wrong way. Fortunately, the bill died the death. Unfortunately, if Clinton became president, she would likely find a way to resurrect it. Not Unlike Dracula.