Perfectly Human

Daily writing prompt

If you could permanently ban a word from general usage, which one would it be? Why?

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is one of the only words that I truly dislike. It seems like a simple little word. We teach it to our children when they are learning how to read and write.

The thing with this word, though, is that it carries a significant and dark undertone. It gets people thinking, “Oh, in my perfect world… I’d change this…” Now, if there’s a bunch of people who also decide, “Hey… yeah, my world would be so much better without that too.” Where does that lead? Freedom? Peace? Happiness? Oppression? Loss of rights? Loss of autonomy? Loss of life? How far can the word “ban” go down the rabbit hole called history’s atrocities?

Here’s the thing… if we ban one word, we start banning more. We start banning books, more things, then… entire populations of people. Civilization’s history has a way of repeating itself. “Ban” is one of the few four-letter words in my book. But… it serves as an important reminder of what the most important lesson has always been in humanity’s story.

Here’s an awesome organization that helps protect words.

PEN America – The Freedom to Write