2005 has been a bad year for video games. When it was revealed that Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas has hidden pornographic content, politicians went on the attack. Normally, that sort of major error results in a small period of restraint by the people under the hot light, but not this time. Two of this year’s new games feature graphic scenes of human cannibalism.

The president of the Minneapolis-based National Institute on Media and the Family cited Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas as an example of how vile games are becoming: “In this game—the top seller of 2004—kids can hack prostitutes to death with chain saws. Today we’re seeing things we never saw in the late 1990s, like cannibalism. The f-word is now common in video games. Profanity is up 3,000 percent. Sexual content is up 800 percent” (Star Tribune,November 30).

It isn’t just a few isolated games either; game makers are trying to plumb new depths. Even while under the most intense scrutiny in the history of video game design, manufacturers are hard at work to make games more disgusting.

Meanwhile, the games—regardless of rating—are more accessible to children than ever. Last year, girls as young as 9 were able to buy games with a Mature rating only 8 percent of the time; this year, the percentage has skyrocketed to 46 percent.

Legislation is under way that would make it more difficult to sell games to minors with a Mature rating. However, courts have previously struck down exactly this sort of legislation. In 2000, an attempt to ban minors from playing violent games in public arcades was struck down by an appeals court. The following year, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the appeals court ruling to stand.

The president of the Entertainment Software Association says parents have the tools they need to protect their children. All of the new game systems currently being designed incorporate parental locks. The games provide a rating system. “Now, parents have to do their part in using these tools,” he said. “That is their role, not the government’s or industry’s” (Indianapolis Star, December 2).

One parent responded by saying his children purchased games without his permission: “There’s only so much we can do as parents” (ibid.).

Really? A Mature rating is the equivalent of an R-rated movie. It allows blood and gore, intense violence, strong language, strong sexual content, and use of drugs. Should we really feel obligated to allow that sort of influence in our homes? Can we not provide our 9-year-olds with better than “there’s only so much we can do”? What good will government intervention do on this one issue if we cannot properly raise our own children?

As a parent, you can and must take an active interest in protecting your children’s minds—as well as your own. For practical tips on how to regulate your family’s media usage in order to keep negative influences out of your home, read our article from the July 2005 Trumpet: “Protect Your Child’s Mind.”