Signs Of the Times

Quote of the Day:
"To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves."
~ M. Gandhi ~

Lt. general James Mattis is in hot water. On Feb 3, during a press conference, he mentioned how much fun it was to "shoot some people." While he did not actually say the word 'kill,' and compared shooting to brawling, his idea of fun did not appeal to the public. The article says the audience applauded and laughed. They seem to have a very warped sense of humor. Or perhaps they remember how it much fun it is to play video games.

Video games have come a long way since the appearance of Pac-Man and Donkey Kong in the eighties. Gaming grew with computer technology, becoming more intricate and realistic. Graphics in games now show blood spurting out and hitting the wall or the shooter. The character who pulled the trigger calmly walks on looking for another hit to raise the score of the player. Even the plot of Spyro, a game for children, revolves around killing enemies for points.

The US army is always looking for ways to recruit. Their buddies, in the US Navy Grad School, wrote a game for them. Can't think of a better way than to show how much fun it is to shoot people. In 2002, the Army released "America's Army." A relationship between the game and recruitment strategies can easily be seen. An Army spokesman even says

"The two games will cost about $7 million to design and to maintain 140 servers for online play, according to Lt. Col. Casey Wardynski, director of the Army's internal consulting team. That's about the same as a new M1A3 tank, and less than one-half of one percent of the Army's recruitment budget.

Given the high cost of persuading teenagers to join the Armed Forces, Wardynski figures the expense will have been worth it if an additional 300-400 enlist as a result of the game.

"In World War II, we had newsreels. Then came TV ads. More recently we've had banners. This is just the next step," said Wardynski, who also teaches economics at West Point."

Thats just dandy. If the indoctrination begins at a young enough age, by the time a child reaches 18 they could be psychologically and emotionally immune to pulling the trigger.

Do you think there is any difference between this game and Grand Theft Auto? A lot of people seem to think so. GTA is rated by the Entertainment Software Rating Board as suitable for mature audiences. It contains blood, gore, intense violence, sexual content and use of drugs. The army site is for teens and only exposes a player to blood and violence.

The game has spread all over the world and, in case a kid doesn't speak English, can be played in multiple languages. Join a clan and be a part of a team. Receive "challenging Green beret training" with "special forces equipment and military hardware" and authentic military experience. It's a snipers dream and sounds a lot like Orson Scott Card's "Ender's Game" to me.

The last link on the home page is to the US Army recruitment site. Sometime in the near future, anyone clicking this link could receive a 'Welcome to the US Army! Please report to...' letter.

Now I am going to check my PC for spyware. The America's Army site logged my zip code and who knows what else.

Ha Ha Just kidding. I think... Or is it one more of the many Signs of the Times? Read the last link to find out more. Knowledge Protects. The Truth is out there.