Disclaimer: This post was prompted by the discussion I heard on the radio this morning about the Ann Coulter appearance on The View yesterday. I'm not trying to stir the pot with anyone I know in real life, just stating my own opinions and beliefs. To be perfectly clear, political party is not the issue here.
There are certain words in our society that have very negative connotations and awful history behind them. The type of words that elicit a reaction of shock each time you hear them, because they are used so infrequently today. I'm not talking about the F-Bomb, which I, myself, am guilty of using excessively, I'm talking about a select few words that are so offensive and so disgusting that I'm not even going to tell you what they start with. I'm sure you can guess.
It baffles me that these words are still tossed around so casually by some people. When I think about the world that I have brought a child into I want to be hopeful that we're on our way to making it a better place.
The morning after Obama's election my great Aunt Carol (great as in ancestral, and great as in awesome) sent a beautifully-written email to her friends and family expressing how emotional this political milestone was for her. I read it over and over, so amazed that this new feeling of hope was not just limited to my own generation, but shared across many generations, the young and the old(er) alike. Reading her words about how far our society has come since she was a little girl gave me chills and increased my excitement that maybe we could all work together to have a positive impact on future generations. I'm hopeful that we will someday live in a society where gender/race/religion/sexuality are only afterthoughts.
When I hear the kind of filth I discussed above slide out of someone's mouth today, especially by an individual not much older that I am, some of that hope is lessened.
I suppose it's naive to think that a child born even today can grow up without ever hearing these words. As much as we like to think about how far we've come, there will always be those who refuse to bend and insist on tainting future generations with their hate-filled ideals. Maybe Baby Charlie's future Baby Charlie will have a linguistic repertoire that doesn't include these terms. The cynical side of me finds it hard to believe, but there is still a part of me that hopes....
