by Lucas Brooks

Created on: May 26, 2008

Our nation guarantees us the right to free speech. It is a simple principle that has governed us since our beginning, and it will be one that will govern us until the day our country ceases to be free. Nevertheless, we are now faced with something that is slowly undermining this principle: Political correctness. Because of our growing awareness of the feelings of other people, we are now regulating what we say and how we say it. If we say something that offends someone, we are immediately viewed as outcasts and repercussions will be taken. This is especially prevalent in the media, where radio and other outlets of journalism have come under the scrutiny of the ever present eyes of the public. Say something that offends somoene, and you are on the chopping block. Unfortunately, this completely invalidates our right to free speech.

Now, an argument could be made to say that if you are working in a media outlet, you should be held to a higher standard of control when it comes to what you say and how you express your views. That is all well and good in theory. If the media personas were actually able to maneuver around the ever-changing views of society and how they become offended, it might actually be feasible. Since what offends someone one day may not offend them another, however, and that even when it ceases to offend someone it may still offend another, media personas must constantly play a guessing game when being held to this "standard". That is why it is one big joke.

Furthermore, who are the people that determine these standards? Our government? Possibly the people in charge of the media? Should we not be able to make our own standards as what comes in line with our morals? For instance, if I were to say that I believe Easter is a holy holiday, and some people become offended because of that, should I be forced to say that it is not, even when I believe it is? That is exactly what is going on in our media right now. We are not hearing the truth behind the stories, rather what the media heads want us to perceive as truth through their own writing.

Obviously, the danger of being forced to be politically correct is extreme. If we must hold ourselves to the constant, ever-changing standard of the people around us, we are merely setting ourselves up on a tightrope like apparatus that could crumble with even the slightest misstep. What ever happened to speaking the truth and nothing but the truth? For a media outlet, it is their duty to give the truth and nothing but. If being politically correct stops them from doing that, what is the point of even watching or reading things from them in the first place?

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