Here's something else to chew on...

I'd like to take a moment to weigh in on the current ratings system used by videogame manufacturers. I'll preface what I have to say by stating up front that I'm an active, born-again Christian.

My opinion is that the ratings themselves are a good thing but that merchants need to be more responsible about selling mature-rated games. I think that it's good for that the videogame industry takes parents concerns seriously enough to establish some sort of way for the parents to monitor what their kids play. I do NOT think that videogames cause children or adults to become violent. People kill people--not guns and certainly not videogames! However, parents ought to be able to decide for their families what forms of entertainment should be admissable in their own homes. I think that if videogame makers DIDN'T monitor themselves, the government would intervene and force every game to pass through its filter of censorship. As a Christian I believe it is up to the individual to be responsible for his family's morality rather than the government. So two things need to happen:

1) Merchants who sell videogames need to be much more strict in making sure they don't sell M-rated games to underage children. It's way to easy for a 15-year old to walk into GameStop and buy whatever he wants.

2) Congress needs to shut its pie-hole and quit pretending they care about public decency. They need to stay out of the videogame market since the videogame market is doing a perfectly fine job of informing parents so that they're able to make intelligent decisions.

Finally, if parents don't like what games are being sold to their children, they should take the time to play games WITH their kids. They should also protest against the retailers who sell these games to children rather than against the videogame publishers. Take responsibility people!!!