I recently finished reading "Fahrenheit 451" and I can honestly say that I've never read a book that affected me quite as much. And this past week, I've seen so many parallels to the book, that it's concerning and infuriating me at the same time. A friend and I always enjoy debating back and forth about controversial subjects. We've touched on religion, abortion, drugs and even music. We often disagree, but we never waiver from our views. And while I believe that it's incredibly important to stay open-minded, it's just as important to stand up for yourself; but only when necessary. My friend and I do it for fun (and it's only once ended in genuine anger) and it's interesting and informational to get another view point. I respect his views and his beliefs and I understand where they come from; I just don't agree with them. Which is fine. Two things happened today that made me think. One of the issues angered him and one angered me, but I supposed they're not all that different. The first topic was the new documentary "Bully." I don't know if many of you have heard about this movie yet, but it's a documentary about the effects of bullying in schools. Unfortunately, this is a rising issue and it's something that desperately needs to be addressed. Today's debate started over an article that was written stating that the movie is being released in the U.S. without a rating, which makes it virtually inaccessible in theaters. The issue is that the movie features a lot of questionable language that some see not fit for children (even though it's being said by children in the movie). My argument was that, while this is annoying, I don't see it as that big of a deal. It will still be rentable and parents will still be able to show it to their children. In fact, it might actually have the opposite effect. I know that if I was a teenager and a movie was released, but not being shown in theaters, I would be incredibly curious about what was in it; therefore making me go out and rent it. The rating may also cause such an outrage that it brings to light an issue that isn't talked about enough. I believe that by not giving this movie a rating, it's going to get more attention than it would have gotten if it was released quietly with a "PG" (or higher) rating.
The other article was this one: http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/03/26/war-on-words-nyc-dept-of-education-wants-50-forbidden-words-removed-from-standardized-tests/
Basically, the New York Department of Education is trying to remove certain words from standardized testing that might offend others. The word 'birthday' is included, so as not to offend Jehovah's Witnesses, who do not celebrate; as well as the word 'dinosaur,' in order to not offend creationists. I've never heard anything so ridiculous in my entire life. It concerns me on a level so high, I can't even put it into words. It is a direct parallel to "Fahrenheit 451." It's a blatant attempt to remove all diversity from schools and continue to teach ignorance. I don't celebrate Hanukkah or Kwanzaa or even believe in God, but I would not, in the teeny, tiniest little way be offended by the mention of any of these things. They're things that others believe in and it's those differences and the fact that we all have the freedoms to believe in whatever we want that makes this world so beautiful. Now, I don't believe this is something that will ever get passed, but the very fact that it was brought up in the first place is disturbing. How far does it go? We may as well remove all pictures from the internet and textbooks, so that men aren't offended by pictures of women and blacks aren't offended by pictures of whites. We shouldn't have any pictures of heterosexual couples, because gay people might be offended. Let's not have any pictures of animals, because we might offend the vegetarians, and we should really just stop selling anything with sugar, because I'm sure the diabetics are angry about that. Where does it end? It's one thing to decide that a movie or a book or a TV show is inappropriate for a certain age group, but to try to argue that certain WORDS are going to offend people. I'm sure you can find at least one person who is offended by every word in the world. I, personally hate the word 'kumquat' and I know many people don't like the word 'moist.' Should we remove those too? At what point do we all just do what we do and stop worrying about everyone else? If you don't like what someone has to say, talk to someone else. If you're offended by a book, don't read it. If a TV show touches on subjects you don't agree with, don't watch it. It's really and truly that friggin' simple. It is absolutely necessary to stand up for your beliefs, but ONLY if you have to. If someone is intentionally and maliciously attacking your beliefs and telling you that they are wrong, then definitely defend yourself! If someone is bullying you because of how you live your life or what you believe in, stand up and be heard! But, don't do it just to do it. No one cares and no one wants to hear you whine. Once we can all realize that it's our differences that make us beautiful, maybe there will be a glimmer of peace in the world...maybe.
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