FREEDOM OF SPEECH
I have to admit that I am astounded after reading the essay “You Can’t Say That” by Diane Ravitch. What happened to freedom of speech in society? We all realize that there are words or phrases that are wrong and you shouldn’t say them. However, to mandate that certain words be removed from textbooks and tests is unconstitutional. The world has turned into a policing of political correctness that has reached epidemic proportions. What happened to sharing views and opinions to learn more about one another? You do not have to agree with someone else’s view point however you should respect it and just chalk it up to let’s agree to disagree.
I can understand the view point of removing gender or age specific words so not to discriminate against gender, age, race, or a religious affiliation. However, I think it is a little extreme to condemn words such as primitive, cult, or yacht. Although acknowledging the gender specific rule, I think it is going overboard with words such as brotherhood and cowboy. So are the words sisterhood and cowgirl excluded as well? The word American is replaced with citizen of the United States or North American. There is nothing more un-American than to say we have to remove the word American from use. If I didn’t already live here in the United States, I would think all of this is ridiculous however I see this everyday living in America.
I believe if we begin removing particular words due to gender, race, age, or religious affiliation then when do we stop. Are we going to remove words so that criminal’s feelings are not hurt? Will we remove the word pedophile so that we are sensitive to sex offenders? There are many words, most of the four letter variety that I do not agree with so I choose not to use them. I do not initiate a campaign to get these words banned from American culture. Essentially, where does it end? We could remove every word from the English dictionary and someone would still be offended.
We are becoming a society that is afraid to speak to one another due to the fact that what you say will be perceived as not being politically correct. This has pushed us into not communicating with others which is why we use voicemail, email, and anything that is technologically advanced to enable us to have less communication with others. Will we continue to condemn words that a particular group deems unfit? Are we going to remove words, phrases, or passages from literature or works of art because they interfere with political correctness?
I can understand the view point of removing gender or age specific words so not to discriminate against gender, age, race, or a religious affiliation. However, I think it is a little extreme to condemn words such as primitive, cult, or yacht. Although acknowledging the gender specific rule, I think it is going overboard with words such as brotherhood and cowboy. So are the words sisterhood and cowgirl excluded as well? The word American is replaced with citizen of the United States or North American. There is nothing more un-American than to say we have to remove the word American from use. If I didn’t already live here in the United States, I would think all of this is ridiculous however I see this everyday living in America.
I believe if we begin removing particular words due to gender, race, age, or religious affiliation then when do we stop. Are we going to remove words so that criminal’s feelings are not hurt? Will we remove the word pedophile so that we are sensitive to sex offenders? There are many words, most of the four letter variety that I do not agree with so I choose not to use them. I do not initiate a campaign to get these words banned from American culture. Essentially, where does it end? We could remove every word from the English dictionary and someone would still be offended.
We are becoming a society that is afraid to speak to one another due to the fact that what you say will be perceived as not being politically correct. This has pushed us into not communicating with others which is why we use voicemail, email, and anything that is technologically advanced to enable us to have less communication with others. Will we continue to condemn words that a particular group deems unfit? Are we going to remove words, phrases, or passages from literature or works of art because they interfere with political correctness?
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