I have been deeply disturbed lately by the number of videos for sale on TV which portray people getting killed in many gruesome ways. To me, it's reflective of the drop in our society's maturity level, and a direct reversal of the process of civilization.

I take complete offense to the concept of death as entertainment. We look back and wonder how the peasants of the middle ages could look forward to the next beheading when at the same time we are buying videos that sell by the brutality factor. The more violent the wreck, the better.

There has been debate for a long time about televising executions. I used to consider it as a possible way to deter crime. Deterence is the major problem in the way our society handles crime. We don't give people enough of a reason NOT to do something. I wouldn't have ruled out the possibility that live execution could give criminals the "shock" they need to reconsider their actions.

But in light of the popularity of these videos (and they must be popular, because more and more keep showing up), I would have to say that our society is in no way ready for live death. I can imagine a bunch of my fellow students sitting around laughing with beers and chips, betting on how long it will take for the injection to take effect. In an ideal society, yeah, the impact of seeing the death penalty in action would scare the daylights out of many would-be criminals, but we seem to be far from that point.

Although it's not on the same level as peddling death, this article wouldn't be finished if I didn't mention Springer. The Jerry Springer Show is a prime example of the lowering of the standards we usually try to set in our society, our education system and in college. I find it both amusing and disturbing at once that here at an institution of "higher learning" students are pre-occupied from 12 to 1 watching people yell and scream at each other over absolutely nothing. The show's entertainment factor isn't even very high. You can only see guests jump out of their chairs when Jerry says "well, we've got him here... come on out!" so many times before it's old.

The reason the show is so hot is because it gives people a rush. People need to see conflict and dispute to make their days complete. They need to see tragedy and death. They need a violent ending to a story, a gut-wrenching finale. Isn't it more interesting when the car doesn't make it off the tracks in time? Isn't it more fulfilling when the fire victim jumps out the window before the cushion is ready to catch her?

Our society's maturity level seems to be dropping. We don't handle tragedy and despair the way we should. I'm not saying we shouldn't get a rush out of life and its ups and downs, but we need to learn how to handle it properly, and develop a little bit of heart.