By Weston Irons Posted June 9, 2016
Let’s take a journey back through time to the 50s and 60s. At that time our nation was at a pivotal point in history, the world as we knew it had changed rapidly over the last 100 years.
With change arises many issues and the mid 1900’s was no different. There were discussions and debates concerning many issues. Two of the biggest debates were those over the Vietnam War and Civil Rights. College students at the time often had their opinions silenced as they were considered too young and naive to have opinions on such “grown-up” topics. What the nation did not realize was that they were not only silencing the youth of America but also the future of our nation. Students began to protest that their opinions had just as much right heard as any middle-aged politician. The nation could not ignore the students’ pleas and thus they finally got the audience they so desperately wanted. Now, more than 50 years later, those voices are being suppressed again.
In today’s society, everyone seems to be so easily hurt by a mere opinion. It’s hard to say anything even relatively controversial without being lit up by your peers, your elders, and even the media. If something is even considered mildly offensive, people will jump on you in an instant and attack you with words even worse than the ones you said. Why does this happen? All you did was voice your opinion and now suddenly you are public enemy number one.
Everyone has that same state of mind that everyone and everything is out to get them. They are not only being paranoid but also ignorant. Now because of these people, college students’ voices are becoming quieter by the day. More and more restrictions are being placed on what they can say just because the majority of people have thin skin. People cannot handle criticism and they cannot handle opinions. How are we supposed to advance as a democracy if college students are being silenced for their beliefs? All of this censorship is starting to really become ridiculous and it needs to stop now.
