Hot Button Issues

It seems lately that our politicians have really dug their claws into this whole video game contraversy. I thought it would die down in a week or two after the whole Rockstar fiasco, but apparently there's still a few legislators out there who are on a Mission to Save the Children from the evil forces of Video games.
Careful, kids, you may be in for a shock, but Mama is about to veer wildly away from her precious democractic party on this issue. I don't feel that *gasp!* government should be getting involved, especially not at the level it is trying to.
First off, the Video Game Industry is self regulating. Good Ol' Jack Thompson made that happen years ago when Mortal Kombat upset his delicate sensibilities. SInce no form of media ever wants the Big Bad Government to get their fat fingers into their business, the ESRB rating system was created, and has worked nearly without flaw since it's inception. In fact, this whole fiasco with Rockstar has actually proven how effective they are as a governing body, as when the news broke of the undisclosed content, all of those games were pulled from the shelves within 24 hours. Our government doesn't even work that fast *couch Katrina couch*. The new rating was quickly put in place, and voila, problem solved.
So now all of the sudden we are in a huff about a minor's ability to obtain M rated video games. The lawmaker's saw this as a new hot button topic, and began jumping on it like sharks at a feeding frenzy. The smell of potential Parental Advocacy votes in the water was too great a temptation, apparently.
I've been keeping abreast of the developing legislation in this issue, as both a parent and a gamer. As I said before, creating any laws to step in on governing this form of media to me smacks of the Evils of Future Censorship. And, I've noticed that rather than putting control back into parents' hands, these newly drafted bits of legislative fluff are in fact taking responsibility off the shoulders of those who are rightfully supposed to be raising their kids.
Too many of these irresponsible parents are crying to the Powers that Be that their devious offspring are able to get the games without any knowledge on the part of Mom and Pop. A few have uttered to my misgivings that I have no idea what it's like to raise a teenager. They are correct, my son is only two. About the only parental nightmares I have right now are grocery store meltdowns. But I have a teenage brother, and it wasn't all THAT long ago I was in my own awkward adolescence. And, shock of all shocks, my parents KNEW WHAT I BOUGHT! How, you ask, did they perform this mighty feat without psychic powers and mind reading abilities?! Well, this may come as a surprise to some, an unthinkable concept...my parents TALKED TO ME. Since they were the ones who gave me money in the first place, before I got a job, they were able to regulate how I spent it (clothes and makeup, and the occassional Bauhaus CD). I was raised in the heydey of the PMRC, and my parents would listen to the CDs I bought with me. Yes, they probably hated it for a spell when I was in my whiney goth music phase, but they endured it to discover what I was filling my head with. If they were concerned about lyrics, they'd have a lengthy discussion with me on how I felt about the message of the music I was so deeply in love with. Later, when I became a bit more interested in games, I was living under my father's roof. Guess what he did?! He dared read the boxes of the games I wanted to buy! He'd even go as far as reading reviews! Gasp! Shock! Unthinkable!
When my son gets interested in games, and he will, being so exposed to them, I will pay attention, just like my parents did. He wants a game? If I am purchasing it, I'll read reviews (not hard to find, given our new nifty technology of the INTERNET). If he is buying them on his own, I will actually converse with him about which one's he is wanting and thinking about purchasing. You don't have to come across as the gestapo, simply having a convo with your child about their interests is not that friggin difficult. Of course, you have to lay a foundation for free communication by not instantly lecturing or getting all judgemental everytime your kid opens their mouth. Listening is a skill that should be a prerequisite to childrearing.
Going back to the real subject at hand, politicians and their precious hot button issue. Not only is this legislation unecessary in light of a selfgoverning industry, but wasteful. Wasteful of resources spent even creating it, wasteful in getting it voted on, and wasteful of policing resources trying to enforce this nonsense.
We talk about government waste all the time, and this is a prime example. When most states have floundering educational systems, transportation nightmares, and taxation vexations (oh, and a few have a pesky natural disaster to worry about, while others should be helping them), we have these fatcats creating this nonsensical paperwork to tie up resources. Get back to your jobs, people, and stop wasting your time on trying to garner a few extra votes.
So, if you, like me, feel this is a gross misuse of your taxpaying dollars, write to your legislator and tell them to drop this crap and get back to more serious issues. Maybe if they realize we consituents don't give a flying fuck about this minor issue, they'll drop it and go back to writing meaningful drafts.