<doc.id=0218.a3>
<title> The violence will always exist </title>
We all want to protect our children and other young people from violence and evil. In our society today there are many sources where they are exposed to violence. Television is one example. It is impossible to control everything the young people are watching on television, even if we sometimes want to. We have to find a solution to protect them from violence without restricting their freedom. In this essay I am going to discuss the violence on television, the situation in Sweden at present and possible measures to deal with the problem of young people being exposed to violence.

Violence is something we meet every day on television. It can be everything from words to guns and fights. Both psychic and physical violence is common. To prevent it on television someone has to decide the definition of violence and where the boundary is. The question is who this someone is and if government control is right? Violence appears in many different types of situations: news, documentaries, films, cartoons etc. We can never know what is coming on television next. That is why it is so hard to protect the young viewers. In the US a V chip has been presented to the Senate as a solution to this problem. In Sweden the government has chosen a different solution.

In Sweden we have a censorship that controls what television programs are transmitted. This is a form of government control. Programs with tendency of violence are shown at later hours or in other channels to prevent children from watching them. One example of this is that the six o'clock news, who use to be on television right before the children's programs, was moved to another channel just to prevent children to watch it. Here again we have the problem with deciding what is violent and what is not and whether it is right or wrong that the government decides that. In Sweden we also have less channels than the US has got and that makes the supply of TV violence smaller. But parabolic aerials and cable television are getting more and more common in our country. Soon we may also have the same amount of channels as the US. I do not believe that we ever can lock the children out from violence, even if we want to. Despite that we must never stop trying.

The general opinion is that the parents have the responsibility to prevent the children from watching violence on television. It is not possible as a parent to control what your children are watching when you are out of the room. Even if your children are not allowed to watch such programs at home, who knows what they are watching at their friends' house? In my opinion the best thing parents can do is to teach their children morality and values and at an early stage decide together with the child what he/she is allowed to watch and why/ why not. We have to face the fact that violence does exist and it is our obligation, as parents and citizens, to help the children to get a healthy attitude towards violence. We need to teach them how to defend themselves in today's society and to turn away from violence. Organisations such as "non-violence generation" should work as a role model. It would be a good idea to invite them to schools and other places where the young people are. Through information are we able to help the children before the violence has affected them to much and lead to criminality.

There have been many suggestions how to prevent and lock out violence on television. The US may use a V chip and in Sweden we have censorship. Although these efforts have been made I do not believe that it is possible to lock out violence. The violence will always exist. TV programs that contains violence are shown at later hours for adults but we can never control who is watching them. If we can not lock out violence to protect our children we have to prepare them for the reality we are living in, that also contains violence. I think that the solution is to discuss violence with the young people, not just forbidding it. To forbid the TV programs may make them more appealing and the intentions are lost. Together we can make a difference through information and it is time to start as soon as possible to make the world a better place.
</doc>