Far too much of American television, consists of endless fights and killings of one person or group of persons vis-à-vis another. Whether or not, anything of this excessive violence and lack of respect for life, is absorbed into the persona of Americans is debatable; but what cannot be denied, is that America is a supremely violent country, especially in comparison to other western nations. The fact of the matter is, the less respect that a given person has to another, the more prone people are to see violence as a legitimate option in dealing with people that they disagree with, or are in their way, or that they don't like.
Basically, the more that any fellow human, is dehumanized, and thereby considered to be something less than fully human; such as an animal, or an object, or someone considered to be a devalued member of society for whatever reason, spurious or not; the easier it is to deal with that individual in a manner in which that person is not respected as a person, and thereby more readily considered to be no longer worthy of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; and subsequently is seen as someone that deserves no respect and has no right therefore to successfully secure any of those unalienable rights, that we so claim for ourselves.
When we will not take the time to walk in another person's shoes, or take the time to actually have a civil conversation with another person, so as to get to know one another, and to thereby find some common ground, then society as a whole suffers for this, for that society has devolved into an us v. them sort of mentality. Anytime that we believe that the best appropriate response to an intractable problem is some degree of violence, then clearly we are not able to see the humanity and worth of another human being, and have denigrated them, as being something less than we are, and hence expendable, to our own selfish desires.
The violence that we see in America, is primarily a reflection of an inability to see other people as having intrinsic worth that supersedes our own anger and frustration; as well as frequently being a reflection that we don't respect our own lives, as being something of real worth, and because we do not value life, theirs or our own, we deal with it in a manner that is often destructive, by striking out against others, or at the mirror of our own self.
Those things and attributes that we respect most are the very same things and attributes that we honor most; and when we cannot see or believe that every human life has value and is deserving of that honor, then we are less human, ourselves. Remember well, that we learn by the exemplar set by our family members, respected elders, and the values as displayed by our governmental representatives. What they do and what we subsequently become, are a fair reflection of the lessons so given. All those that take the time to reflect on not only who and what they currently are, but further ponder upon what they desire to be, must recognize sooner or later, that all that has been created equally, is equally deserving of our respect, which allows us then to better successfully connect to each other, in conscious recognition that we are truly brothers and sisters, to one another.