There’s nothing quite like a good scapegoat, and video games make for a pretty good one. I’ve heard all about the wiles of depraved developers who design “murder simulators” and the psychotic, sociopathic obsessives who crave them. I’ve heard all manner of ignorant, ill-informed opinion and have been appalled at the range and depth of pseudo-scientific theories that spout off numbers, rates, and statistics that supposedly add up to prove the evils of demon video games. The problem is, statistics can mean anything. Emphasize a certain statistic, come up with a good explanation, and then continue to spin and spin as the media soaks it up and spits it out in countless market tabloids and daytime TV talk shows. Build a panel of “experts”, show a couple clips of the latest “Grand Theft Auto” game, turn on the cameras and watch them go… It’s a sickening charade that results in thousands of shocked viewers who can’t believe what they are seeing and who can’t wait to put a stop to it. The sensational headlines, the buzz, the hype; it just continues to build. No wonder it comes as a breath of fresh air when I see even one person in a position of authority who actually employs rational thought on the subject. Someone like Governor Ed Rendell.

Governor Edward G. Rendell of Pennsylvania, along with several other government officials, recently made a series of public service announcements promoting the Entertainment Software Ratings Board and urging parents to learn about the ratings that are assigned to games based on their content. The short PSAs acknowledge the fact that not all games are made for children and that modern consoles have restriction settings that can be adjusted to make sure younger gamers aren’t playing mature rated games. What makes the PSAs so great, in my opinion, is that they stress the idea that games can be fun for the whole family, which also acknowledges the fact that games aren’t some subversive activity only enjoyed by anti-social shut-ins living in their parents’ basements. Not one touch of sensationalism; no questionable statistics. No heavy-handed preaching, here; just a simple, straight-forward message asking parents to look on the box and make sure they’re buying age-appropriate games for their kids.

While this isn’t exactly a novel approach, it is a sign that something positive is working in our society. That someone in such a high position of authority actually “gets it” and doesn’t just go around writing bills to ban gaming brings a smile to my face. For the most part, we’ve seen the approach taken when a governor — say, the Governor of California, Governor Schwarzenegger, for example — decides to deny the sale of violent video games to minors. Usually, this gets shot down for being unconstitutional. Whether or not it sounds like a great idea that minors should be prohibited from buying violent video games, it still comes across as a violation of the First Amendment and can’t be upheld — but that doesn’t really stop them from repeatedly trying to pass such laws. You have to admit, these guys are pretty tenacious, so when it comes to a governor, a state senator, or even an attorney general standing in front of a camera and advocating education rather than legislation, I have to believe there’s hope for the future.

Will this be the end of sensationalist media personalities exploiting the violent acts of deranged individuals who also just so happen to enjoy gaming in their free time? Probably not; but even if it did, there’s still a small part of all this that doesn’t quite sit right with me. In a way, it’s almost as though we gamers are admitting that we’ve been wrong about this whole “violent games do not beget violent individuals” thing. The idea of keeping violent games out of the hands of minors, after all, is so that they won’t be scarred by the images they see; that they won’t grow up as trained killers merely emulating what they’ve done in games by going on a high-school shooting spree. It’s admitting something I simply don’t believe: that kids who consume vast quantities of violent video games will grow up to be, themselves, quite violent. I just simply find this to be ridiculous — but that doesn’t mean I don’t think there are those individuals who allow gaming to become an obsessively compulsive behavior and who do take things way too far. Even so, that’s really nothing new — not even slightly. It’s just that, these days, the scapegoat for all of society’s evils is video games and it’s easier to demonize something you don’t understand than it is to learn about what’s really going on in the head of someone with a genuine problem. Personally, I can’t wait until we find something else to blame; maybe one of these days we’ll actually hit the nail on the head.

As for Governor Rendell, while I can’t comment on him personally or politically — not for moral or ethical reasons, but simply as this is the first time I can recall that he’s done anything that affects me, personally, aside from being the governor of the state I currently live in — I can say that I’m pleased with the stance he’s taken on the issue. I hope it works out for him, for our sake. I hope that parents take his words to heart and actually read what’s on the boxes and learn what a game is all about before making a purchase.

Finally, if you are politically active, or would like to learn how you can get involved with the politics around gaming, I urge you to join The Video Game Voters Network. Also, to learn more about the ESRB ratings, please follow this link.