A young boy imitates a trick from his favorite TV show. He sneaks up behind the bad guy, snatches the gun from the unsuspecting criminal's holster, and, pointing the gun, says, "Hold it right there, buster." In this case, the "bad guy" is a policeman stationed near an elementary school. The officer reacts quickly, preventing tragedy, and the young boy "lives to tell the tale."
That boy was Stephen Fuchs '68, who will draw on this childhood memory at an Alumni College presentation at Hamilton during Reunions '08. A rabbi, Fuchs advocates the "Preposterous Proposal," a plea to the media to stop producing and airing violent programming aimed at children. He calls his proposal "preposterous" because he believes that suppressing violent content is not a popular opinion. He asserts that people who voice concerns about violence on TV and in video games are labeled as right wing, conservative or censors.
A woman from his congregation, who was interviewed about the campaign by The Jewish Ledger, said of Fuchs, "What I saw was a man thinking about my children, your children and society; a serious concerned person." Fuchs noted, "I am not asking for censorship. I am asking for self-discipline." In a sermon to his congregation, he added, "I have made my preposterous proposal to the media moguls of our land … my real hope, though, is to stem the flow of violence at its source."
He quotes the Talmud, "One who saves a single life has saved an entire world, and one who destroys a single life has destroyed an entire world," adding, "I only offer such a preposterous proposal because so many lives and so many worlds are at stake."
To learn more about Stephen Fuchs '68 campaign against violence in the media, click here to see Rabbi Stephen Fuchs on WFSB's Face The State 02/04/07.
That boy was Stephen Fuchs '68, who will draw on this childhood memory at an Alumni College presentation at Hamilton during Reunions '08. A rabbi, Fuchs advocates the "Preposterous Proposal," a plea to the media to stop producing and airing violent programming aimed at children. He calls his proposal "preposterous" because he believes that suppressing violent content is not a popular opinion. He asserts that people who voice concerns about violence on TV and in video games are labeled as right wing, conservative or censors.
A woman from his congregation, who was interviewed about the campaign by The Jewish Ledger, said of Fuchs, "What I saw was a man thinking about my children, your children and society; a serious concerned person." Fuchs noted, "I am not asking for censorship. I am asking for self-discipline." In a sermon to his congregation, he added, "I have made my preposterous proposal to the media moguls of our land … my real hope, though, is to stem the flow of violence at its source."
He quotes the Talmud, "One who saves a single life has saved an entire world, and one who destroys a single life has destroyed an entire world," adding, "I only offer such a preposterous proposal because so many lives and so many worlds are at stake."
To learn more about Stephen Fuchs '68 campaign against violence in the media, click here to see Rabbi Stephen Fuchs on WFSB's Face The State 02/04/07.
