Probably the greatest piece of artistic work and social commentary in the past twenty years is Matt Groening’s The Simpsons. In 2008 the show has lost much of its controversial reflection of American society it once held. But it has still tackled social issues such as gay marriage and gun control.

On a much more general level the Simpsons exposed American love of observing violence. Nelson Muntz’ character patented "Ha Ha" is an example of the indifference and amusement towards violence. The appreciation of violence is easily observable in 'The Itchy and Scratchy Show'. A cartoon of decapitation and evisceration that filled children’s hearts with laughter. In one episode Lisa describes the voyeuristic hilarity of watching violent misfortune fall on others. Her litmus test was simply hitting Bart causing Marge to laugh.

Since MMA’s first network appearance much has been written about our return to Roman gladiatorial spectacle or the decline of society into a Mad Max dystopia. Both comments are disingenuous. Violence and the observation of violence is not uniquely a modern or contemporary phenomenon. Nor is it some ancient barbaric past that Christendom and then the Enlightenment wiped clean.

No, violence as entertainment has always existed and will probably always exist. While societies may tolerate less or more (we don’t enjoy watching death now) these forms of entertainment have simply altered with the times and have never truly vanished.

The desire for such spectacle is undeniable in our contemporary society as well as in our past. Nay it is a commonality in all societies in either the developed or undeveloped world. Any moral condemnation is inherently hypocritical. While ESPN pundits decried the event as, ‘brutal, hyper-violent, gore-tastic’ their lead story of the weekend was finding any excuse to show the Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Ray brawl. It was even their picture of the week. Not to mention the myriad of other violent events that are shown regularly.

Such desires to view violence is not isolated to sports but encompasses other media. For news coverage the cliché ‘if it bleeds it leads’ has long since entered the vernacular. Family programming also has some violent actions. America’s funniest home video is more aptly named Laugh at people being hurt. ABC is releasing a new show that imitates Spike’s Most Extreme Challenge, a show that entails watching people violently fail at physical contests. Even Gloucestershire's annual Cheese Race is watched in order to view people tumble down a hillside.

There is a scene in the movie Munich where the Mossad agents are going to kill a woman. One of them is beginning to have doubts. Eric Bana tries to reassure him saying that, "We can’t afford to be so decent anymore." Hans Zischler responds "I don’t think we ever were [that decent]." It should be stated that there are different degrees of violence and it is in understanding these degrees can we appreciate the moral complexity of viewing violence for entertainment. Such an epiphany is beyond some of us but it doesn’t have to blind our coverage.