A Rant

Semantics, Euphemisms and Historical Revisions

Big Kahuna

08/03/03

Thanks to teachers and programs that are stifling the imagination of our young people today, we have graduates today that don't know where the Potomac is or that the Amazon is a river in Brazil, not a female warrior tribe. A major part of this problem is what our children and young adults are being taught, or allowed to read. It is extremely difficult for those of us over 60 to comprehend the extensive list of words, concepts, or phrases that aren't allowed to appear in school textbooks any longer. Hell they can't even show pioneer women walking beside a covered wagon, or blacks living in crowded tenements. The blind are visually impaired and crippled people are handicapped. It must all have a pleasant sound. The words that have man in them are a no no! For instance: Policeman, workmanship, craftsman and sportsmanship just to name a few. I kid you not! Parents do you know that the use of the term founding fathers is now frowned on? Then to go from the ridiculous to the totally insane, you can no longer refer to the Jungle, it must be rain forest or some other innocuous word. Don't expect your little darling to go to a library to find Tom Sawyer or Huckleberry Finn cause they have been banned and for those of you old enough to remember, Little Black Sambo has been relegated to the dustbin of PC. Hell in our politically correct dumbed down society A Christmas Carol by Dickens gets the same treatment. You must also be aware there are many many others.

This tome and tirade has been brought on by my meeting a high school teacher the other day, who didn't know who, what, or where the Potomac was. I kid you not. In less than 20 years (I will be gone) America will be the home of the not so free, politically correct and very dumb. I hope to be looking down to see if I'm proven wrong.