I'm watching C-SPAN's coverage of the Senate subcommittee hearings on violence in video games. Apparently, another kook opening fire on his high school has given the mind police an opportunity to rationalize restricting the ways we're allowed to fantasize and engage in escapism. As I listen to Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) express his complete ignorance on the subject of modern youth culture, from the significance of Doom to what Goths stand for, I can't help …showed first 75 words of 1005 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1005 total…us is more intrinsic, like water? Let's stop confusing the symptoms of violence with its cause. Thinking about aggression is normal and natural. Acting on those thoughts used to be normal, too, but we want to live in a world in which we're not subjected to physical threats. So let's identify and remove those individuals who lack the ability to separate fantasy from action—and leave the rest of us to enjoy our video games.