Sticks & Stones

There is so much outrage over the use of certain words in our culture.  Years ago, I had a friend from Chile who commented on the strange nuances with our language here.  She said that where she’s from you describe something the way it looks and the meaning is simply the meaning.  But here, she said, there is a sensitivity to connotations of words that make it difficult for a foreigner to know if they’re being offensive.

As time has gone by, this American tendency appears to be amplified.  Someone who has been doing a great job for a very long time says one word that some find offensive and he loses his job or even his career.  It’s all fun and games until it’s you who lets an ‘inappropriate’ word slip out.
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The irony is that this is the Land of the Free.  This is the country where freedom of speech is the number one amendment of the Constitution.  It’s not the second, or third, it’s the first.  And yes, we can still say whatever we want, but there are consequences that I feel are unreasonable.  These consequences stifle the intent of the First Amendment.  I wonder what the authors would say if we transported them through time to the present.  Pretty sure it wouldn’t be complimentary.