You Have to Kill if You Want to Level Up?

It may sound hypocritical coming from someone who organizes Zombie Survival Camp, but our pop culture's obsession with killing is wearing me out. I watch the Walking Dead and what was once a group in a gruelling struggle for survival is now a group with a soldier of fortune opportunity too good to pass up. I also recently played the new post apocalyptic video game The Division. In this game I am a super soldier tasked with retaking a plague riddled New York by murdering every rioter and mugger I come across with my shiny assault rifle. Do you see where I am coming from?

There seems to be a high value placed on the skill of the killer. Rick and the gang have the special talent of ruthlessly murdering opposition and as they say, market your strengths! In The Division, the streets are full of suffering civilians but I am only able to help them when they solicit aid. When I hand out canned food I receive a tiny amount of XP towards levelling up. Now put me in front of three people mugging someone and bang, I get a pints of gooey XP for blind siding those dudes with a bullet shower.

I know the "video games and tv make you violent" argument is a tired one. Research can point you either way. I have no problem with depictions of violence or even acting them out as a digital character. In fact, I think these depictions can make us better, not for hardening us into merciless killers, but by giving us reason to pause and question the validity of those actions. The moral exercise we can partake in when we question a murder, even in a video game, can help develop a lasting internal strength. The key though is taking the time to actually question what ideas we are consuming.

#morals #murder #walkingdead #thedivision