This article focuses on the glorification of violence in the United States and why there is such an attraction to violent images. The data on the impact of violent video games, movies, and television shows tend to focus on whether those images and scenes lead to aggressive behavior, but in this article I highlight the fact that this research indicates that Americans are drawn to images and scenes of violent behavior. The U.S. citizenry does not simply react to what the media companies produce; it chooses video games and shows that contain violence. I address why this is in terms of American exceptionalism and draw the connection between that grandiose image of America and the glorification of violence across a wide range of the American population.