Censorship in America
America is censoring itself for the sake of political correctness, one that has been taken to its extreme. Instead of being a unified America, we are now divided by the sub-groups and demographics that politicians use to approach the public.
Political correctness does not solve society’s problems but instead camouflages them.
We are so afraid to offend others that we, in our minds, separate ourselves from each other rather than working together. This cannot happen. We should not be so quick to be offended. We cannot be afraid to speak to one another just because we are different from one another.
Because of the politicaly correct taboo, we are now fearful of conversation where we say something that can possibly be misconstrued as offensive. This could all result to the loss of respect from your peers and worst-case scenario, the loss of your employment.
An example of such an incident happened in 2006 when ABC’s ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ cast member Isaiah Washington was fired for the conflict that arose after his use of the word faggot that fellow cast member TR Knight said was directed at him.
Washington maintains that he did not direct his comment to Knight and that it was actually during a fight with Patrick Dempsey that he said the slur. Instead of working out any differences between them together, Washington and Knight divided the cast and crew to the point where one of them had to leave the set permanently.
While the original intention of being politically correct was to be beneficial in a time when our country was more harshly defined by race, sex or sexuality, now it has only masked the division between the demographics.
Hatred, racism and bigotry all come from the mind, not from the words.
Why should we be afraid of what we say to one another? Why should we be afraid of offending others? If we all try to not offend, how will we work past our differences and conflicts?
As Martin Luther King Jr. said, our future should “live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character” and that can not happen if people can not openly speak to one another without the possible scare of being politically incorrect.
In this time, political correctness has become outdated. It divides rather than unifies. It disguises the problems rather than solves them.
Our country is made up of many different groups and demographics. We have the opportunity to work together to make a more tolerant world.
But this cannot happen if we do not confront our problems and issues to each other.
We must not be afraid to voice our opinions to others who may take offense to them.
—Leigh Anne Manwarren
Staff Writer
