Posted by
Bob Siegel on Friday, August 28, 2009 2:05:34 AM
Words can be very powerful and the twisted definition of a word can be dangerous. Here is a list of words and phrases that I would like to see permanently retired from our discussions.
1) "I find this offensive."
Today's generation gets offended far too easily. Some would be offended if a leaf fell from a tree. Frankly, I do not care if words offend. I care more about whether words are true. Our forefathers knew that free speech would often offend. Why else would they need to be protected by our constitution? Certainly, there is no reason to purposely offend people as an end in itself. We should never go out of our way to be rude, neither should we act self-righteous or inappropriately judgmental as Christians. But when somebody is offended simply by a manger scene, or a cross around the neck, or an opposing political viewpoint, then we must face the fact that we live in very thin skinned times and stop worrying so much about what offends.
2) Tolerance
"You sound intolerant!" people cry, in an effort to quickly shut up their opponent and end all discussion. But the truth is, nobody, and I mean nobody tolerates everything. Do you tolerate slavery? Do you tolerate racism? Do you tolerate rape? Do you tolerate murder? OK, then each topic should be discussed on its own moral merits. When homosexuality comes up (the true subject hiding behind the word "tolerance") the question should not be whether or not we tolerate the practice but why we do or not not tolerate the practice.
More words and phrases that need to be retired can be found in tomorrow's blog.
Words And Phrases That Should Be Peranently Retired: Part Two
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