I believe in the freedom of speech and I also believe that we still live in a world where hatred exists. Context is the difference between hate speech and writing. Fundamentally utilizing certain language can be informative and even in certain times “educate” and “teach” those reading the literature or perhaps watching the movie. History is important to know and should not be censored. Through history, there is a great opportunity to create change in those who may hold ignorant opinion and hatred if they learn the truth, suffering and what has truly taken place in our not so distant past. We cannot pretend it did not happen, we must do something about it. We cannot create change by censoring, be create change by awareness. Unfortunately the United States has made some decisions to try and censor other events from the books because it does not look good. However we must be accountable so we can be better, better now and better in the future.
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2 thoughts on “Week 9 Discussion Post Heather Hansen”
I completely agree because context is everything. Literature, like history, isn’t meant to be comfortable; it’s meant to make us think. Censoring language in historical texts risks sanitizing the past, making it easier to ignore the harsh realities that shaped our world. By keeping these works intact, we create opportunities for discussion, learning, and change. True progress comes from awareness, not avoidance. We can’t rewrite history, but we can engage with it to envision and produce a better future.
Heather, good point about the difference between words spoken in conversation and those embedded in literature.