Under Attack

There is a war on words in the media. Oops. We're not supposed to use the word 'war' anymore. Other words "under attack" include 'kill,' 'target' and 'battleground.' Basically, any word that might promote violence is on the "hit list."

A CNN anchor actually apologized on the air after a commentator used the term "cross hairs" during an interview. The anchor said CNN is trying to get rid of that kind of language.

This "assault" on words is completely ridiculous. It stems from the mass shootings in Arizona. Within hours of the tragedy, many Left-wing loons came out and said the horror could be traced to the tough talk of conservatives; members of the Tea Party; right-wing pundits Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck; Sarah Palin; and Fox News.

Of course, there is no evidence to link conservative rhetoric to the Arizona shooter. But that hasn't stopped many on the Left from blaming conservatives. These leftists said when politicians and commentators use terms like "cross hairs" and "target," it can incite violence.

So now the "battle" against such terms has begun. Are we supposed to ban all words relating to guns and war?

The American people are smart enough to know when a gun reference is being used as a metaphor. When I was a copy editor, we used gun phrases like "target" in headlines all the time. The readers knew it was a metaphor and that we weren't really calling for violence. These terms have been used in political campaigns for years, too.

So what has changed that we now have to ban certain words and phrases?

We need to stop all this hypersensitive political correctness that is "invading" our society. This is still America. We still have freedom of speech in this country. If they were to "outlaw" certain words now, what's to stop them from "attacking" other words later. And that would be a sad day in America.