“A vast system of communications technology . . . has led to the creation of a culture of violence of unprecedented dimensions, much of it directed toward or available to children.”

—journalist and professor Myriam Miedzian

“Violence is as American as cherry pie.”

—former Black Panther H. Rap Brown

Statistics provided by the Bureau of Justice indicate that the rate of violent crime in the United States has fallen. In 1998, 2,776,800 violent crimes were reported, compared to the 4,191,000 incidents from just five years earlier. Yet, despite the apparent decline, violence remains a concern for much of America.

While violent crime is at a twenty-five-year low, the rate is still much higher than it was in the mid–twentieth century. According to the FBI’s Unified Crime Reports, the rate of violent crime nearly quadrupled between 1960 and 1997. In 1960, the rate was 160 violent crimes per 100,000 persons...