Question: Would you comment of the violence in our society at large, and the forces which are propelling it? What do you think can and should be done about it?

Dr. Dobson: There are few subjects that cause me greater concerm than the exposure being given to crime and violence in North America today.

A squadron of Los Angeles police cornered a desperate gunman in a residential area of the community. The fugitives had barricaded himself in a small house, and held three juvenile hostages inside. Television crews were in hand to photograph one of the children, a teenage boy, as he was forced outside and then shot in the head by his abductor.

The patheric young victim died on the sidewalk in a pool of blood. I sat stunned, literally sick to my stomach, while the drama was broadcast in full colour.

A flood of emotions ran through my mind as I gazed into the immobile, unfocused eyes of the dying adolescent. Mixed with deep pity and remorse was a sudden outpouring of indignation – a revulsion that had been accumulating for years.

I was angry at the profiteers who have nurtured violence in out society, and at those millions who seen to thrive on it. I was angry at movie producers like Sam Packinpah who have smeared blood and guts all over the silver screen. I was angry at the theatre patrons for demanding a dozen disembowelment per hour in their visual entertainment. I was angry at television networks for giving us continuous police stories, with their gun and silly automobile chases and karate chops and SWAT teams.

I was angry at the Supreme Court for legalizing 1.5 million abortions by American women last year. And I was particularly angry at the pathetic system of American justice which makes crime so profitable and punishment so improbable.

But my indignation will change nothing, and the wave of violence and lawlessness will continue unabated. We have become so desensitized to human suffering and exploitation that even the most horrible events are accepted as part of out regular evening “entertainment” on the tube.

I think it’s time that millions of decent, law abiding citizens rise up with one voice to oppose the industries that are profiting from violence.

A valiant campaign of this nature was waged several years ago by the National Parent Teacher Association, directing their efforts at television networks and companies that support the most damaging programs. Of course, this pressure from the PTA brought an anguished cry of “foul play” from the greedy profiteers whose pockets were lines with blood stained money.

Nevertheless, Sears Roebuck, Union Oil and other large companies pledged to sponsor no more violent programs on television. This form of economic sanction is the most powerful tool available to influence our free enterprise system, and we should use it. We have sat on our hands long enough!

Question: How common is the desire for extramarital sexual intercourse in men, even among those who would never be unfaithful to their wives?

Dr. Dobson: Dr. Robert Whitehurst from the Department of Sociology at the University of Windsor, Ontario, was once asked this question: “Do most men at some point have extramarital desires?”

His reply, published in the journal “Sexual Behaviour,” included these comments: “…All men from the first day of marriage onward think about this possibility although these tendencies toward extramarital sexual activity diminish in later middle age and beyond, they never entirely vanish or disappear in normal men.”

These strong statements leave little room for exceptions, but I’m inclined to agree with their conclusions. The lure of infidelity has incredible power to influence human behaviour.

Even men who are involved in a church and are committed to their wives must deal with the same sexual temptation.