by Jimmy Ettele

Created on: August 18, 2008

We have reached a point in our increasingly sterile, spineless, pandering, politically correct country where we have been told a word, a single word, is so offensive, an online free writing site can not even print the word in a question posed to their online writing community. The word can be classified to be considered 'hate speech'. What is the word? Out of the forty thousand or so words in our language, what word has filled our ears with hate? Retard. Retard. Not the 'R-word'. Not learning disabled. Retard. This is the word that may single handedly bring about the end of our nation?

The first thing we must do is be rational about all of this. Rationalizing, being open minded, thinking about things logically can be difficult for a variety of different groups. Christian conservatives, pandering politicians, advocacy groups of all kinds, have a difficult time grasping the concept of rationalizing. Blinded by an agenda, they fail to see the context of situation that deviates from their own twisted dogmas and group motto's. But as I said, rational, sane, logical minds can prevail here.

In this laughable case, the word retard is being used by actors in a movie about a movie. This is why we have controversy? Over a Ben Stiller movie? I must admit when I heard about this "controversy" I thought maybe Don Imus was somehow involved but when I found out the rest of the story, I fail to see a controversy. Think to yourself...this is Ben Stiller. What possible reason would he have to consciously attempt to offend a group of people days before his movie was about to be released?

We must also be cognizant of another fact: sometimes you are going to be offended. It's unavoidable, as much as these groups try, to not find something in a movie, or CD, or television show, or song, or newspaper that does not offend. We are going to have to be a little more thick skinned in cases where Ben Stiller, or Jack Black, or some other actor may have offended you. It wasn't personal, I assure you, it was merely for laughs. We expose our growing lack of backbone and insecurities when words in a movie begin to hurt us.

Given the rate at which our "moral majority" and equal rights groups are going, we will soon have a country as lifeless as the language they wish to employ. Christian conservatives, politicians, advocacy groups for everything from the civil rights of seals to the preservation of rainbows, have injected a stoic, unemotional, unfeeling language.

These groups are taking a word

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