“We’re Scaring Our Children to Death”
In Peggy Noonan’s essay, “We’re Scaring Our Children to Death,” she uses examples from the past to compare life for a child in the early 20th century in comparison to the worries and stories that children of today’s generation have to deal with every day. She argues using logos proofs that the children of today are forced to cope and watch terrible stories and scenes thanks to the American mass media industry. Noonan speaks from what she sees in the news, as well as from what seems to be personal experience, coming across as though she has young children who are being affected by the scenes on TV and on the radio.
Noonan discusses the differences between children now and those who grew up in the past, stating that the kids now have to deal with much worse scenes on TV and in real life situations than those who grew up in the early 20th century. She argues that children had to deal with a little bit of fear from attack by the Japanese in the 40’s, while the baby boomers had to experience the occasional duck-and-cover drill. She says life in the 50’s and 60’s were boring, but for children, boring means safe and happy. In the article, Noonan states that: “life didn’t seem menacing and full of dread,” which is how she perceives children in America today see the world.
Throughout the article the author uses examples from real life situations to show how the children of today are being forced to bear witness to the terrible events that are going on in the world around them. She blames this on the media, which puts major emphasis on the events that cause death and destruction rather than those that show the good side to life in American and around the world. Noonan talks about how she cannot turn the channel without finding something inappropriate and unsuitable for the eyes of a young child. Whether it is on the TV or it is being broadcasted over the radio, the author says that the media in America is introducing young children to the problems of the world long before they need to be informed about them.
It appears as though the author, Peggy Noonan is speaking from personal experience when she argues about how the media affects the children of today. The passion, as well as the accounts she gives makes the reader think that she has children of her own, and is worried about the amount of violence that they are being exposed to. This could be her main inspiration for writing the article; to bring to light the problem that she feels occurs on a daily basis in America.
I think that the author Peggy Noonan, uses the examples from both the past and the present to argue her point, that there is too much violence on TV, and that violence is easily accessible for the young children of today’s generation. She provides numerous types of argument, from logos to pathos. She appeals to the people who want straight facts and evidence, to those who are have an emotional stance on this, because of their children; it is this fact that makes her argument so effective and easy for many different people to take her side.
