Date: 10/13/93

On Oct. 6, a Dayton girl was killed in a fire that was started by her brother who had been watching Beavis and Butthead, a cartoon on MTV.

Some claim the cartoon glorifies arson, rudeness and general mischief and that it should be taken off the air.

As we move closer to the 21st century, we are learning more and more about the immense influence of the media on audiences.

From the movie "Rising Sun" being accused of inciting violence against Asians and Asian-Americans, to Motley Crue being blamed for suicide attempts, to the more recent contentions that Beavis and Butthead are to blame for mischievous behavior in children.

When did we lose control of our own minds? How did parents lose control of their children?

To blame a cartoon, or a record, or a movie for the actions of a community might be the most visibly reasonable thing to do, but we must think about the true problem.

The supply of bad images is not the culprit, it is the demand for these images by the audience, and our willingness to swallow them whole.

Everywhere you turn there are images of violence. And no matter what we do, we are forced to deal with the images or suffer the consequences. Exercising parental control is often unpractical because of our "latchkey kid" era, and turning the channel from Beavis and Butthead to reruns of Hunter is no major improvement anyway.

But how can parents compete with such powerful images? Is there a way to educate our children to make them strong enough to see the images for what they really are - mere entertainment? If we do not take possession of our actions and our decisions as a society, we will always be blaming something or someone else for the actions we choose - and things will continue to get worse.

The vulnerability of young minds to these images is a strong indication that we are losing control of our children. The demands of such a roller-coaster, on-the-go, mobile society leaves little time for parents to ensure that they are the most powerful influence on their kids.

We must demand a slowdown in our society to allow us to catch up to the challenges - or add a couple of hours to each day.

Ridding our television worlds of Beavis and Butthead will not end the problem. Another influence will come along, another rock-n-roll song we don't like, or a television show about cops and killers. We have been seeing the short term results of a long term problem - a society too demanding for its people to manage.

It is time for us to realize that our society is running too fast, and we're tripping on our own feet.

If we continue to consider the media the root of our problems, you can be sure that one day, you will be in a courtroom and hear a defendant submit the plead of "the devil made me do it."