offended

Let’s just it put it right up front, I have issues with political correctness.  While I do not intentionally seek to injure other people with my words, I reserve the right to use the words that express my thoughts and feelings most adequately.  The English language has taken enough of a beating over the years; to remove words from the dialogue on the outside chance of offending someone is offensive to me.  I heard on a talk show today that a teacher in preparing her class to sing the song, “Deck the Halls” decided to change “gay apparel” to bright apparel; fortunately, the teacher was overruled by the principal.  We are privileged to have a rich language in which many words have multiple meanings, just because some people choose to attach negative connotations to the word does not mean I should be restricted to its use.

All of that being said; the other side of the political correctness coin is the choice to be offended. Yes, I said that correctly, each of us makes a choice whether or not to be offended. Even when a person is being deliberately derogatory, the receiver can choose to be offended or move on.  Much of our outlook on life has to do with how we react to the situations we are presented. How much more will we influence a negative person if we would but choose not to accept the negativity?  Take the high road; choose to put the best outlook on every situation.

Proverbs 19:11 “A person’s wisdom yields patience; it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense.”