words

Language is like the river that travels through the city.  It gives life to the city, snaking through spots and bringing joy.  It can also ruin the city, when the tumultuous waves crash over the banks. Similarly, language can mend a problem or exacerbate it.  Recent developments in speech have seen the gradual elimination of "harmful" words that evoke ideas of "sexism, racism, and violence".   However, do these changes really change anything?  The truth is, while the words may be lying dormant, the issues still exist, regardless of whether they are spoken of or not.

filtering what we say

As Kakutani puts it, "Americans' [have] puritanical zeal for reform and [un]wavering faith in the talismanic power of words".  We act as if our words could change the world, when in reality, they are nothing less than empty words connected in sentences.  We believe that we can just sit back, change our sentences, and witness a change in society.  However, the true power in our words is, well, non-existant.  The "indirect speech" that characterizes much of our "ordinary politeness" also highlights the faults in our language-- the "fistula... [that] expos[es] us to an infectious world" (Pinker). When we open our mouths, we are releasing a stream of superficial letters that combine to form a cloud of "vagueness and innuendo" (Pinker).  This further exploits the fault in our language and the unreliability in using it as a model for social change.  In Cummins' illustration about bilingualism, he demonstrates the neccesity in a "smooth" language, rather than one that will not "ride" or translate the speaker places.  While this examines the barriers for culturally diverse students, it also shows the ultimate importance of a language that is not vague, chunky, or hidden.  Along the same lines, the unity of America can be accounted for by the "accident of our origins", or the fact that we are united under one common language (Krauthammer).  And if this language were to be stripped of its radical meanings, then so will the unity that comes with it.

when you mask words, you mask meanings and clarity

The importance of language cannot be contended with.  It is the glue that holds the nation together, that translate a thought to a communication factor, from that to a conversation.  However, we must realize that the power in words is not synonymous with a vehicle of change. If we eliminate radical words, we do not change the standing of such radical ideas in society.  Rather, we attempt to hide a problem that is, and always will be unless we take action outside of words, be present.

freedom or safety

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness". The first sentence of the Declaration of Independence is one to be remembered.  These are the values that we, the US, hold to our dear hearts and use as our separation from the less democratic countries of the world.  However, the freedom outlined in these lines are not what many citizens want- instead, they want to be safe.

On a average day, an average man finds himself in many conundrums and at many crossroads.  It is only human instinct, however, to choose the road that leads to a safer life.  Often, that road is not one that guarantees the most freedom. For example, a typical internet user agrees to many policies that sacrifice his own freedom.  The terms and conditions to create an account on facebook include the condition that the user's name and other identifying information will be available to all those who see his profile.  While this seems like a horrid violation of the freedoms listed above, over 1.23 billion people have given up their freedom for such "safety". This safety is not the typical physical safety that often comes to mind, but rather "social safety". The idea that having a social media page will increase a person's value in society and therefore their safety in modern technology.

H. L. Mencken once said, “The average man does not want to be free. He simply wants to be safe.” In modern society, the idea of being safe socially may have been kept, but in the process, freedom has been sacrificed.