Cancel culture is destroying this country. It seems to me that the movement has created an environment where not every American is allowed to speak their mind anymore, and the right for everyone to truly have freedom of speech is practically non-existent. Supporters of cancel culture believe that celebrities and public figures who have made offensive comments or actions should be boycotted and everyone should hate them.

Celebrities from Eminem to Jimmy Fallon to Ellen Degeneres have been “cancelled” within the last year, which means that they are essentially being boycotted by society for offensive things they said, often on social media many years ago.  

A major area that cancel culture is contributing to ruining is comedy. Nowadays, many areas of comedy have become taboo because comedians fear that they make a simple joke which will lead to being called racist, sexist, homophobic, or bigoted in some way. People are becoming too sensitive by inflating the seriousness of statements and implications: having thick skin is almost unheard of these days. While there are serious instances where racism exists, it seems that now too many are afraid to speak their minds so as not to offend someone. 

Censorship in this country is also getting to the point where it is reflective of countries without free speech. Even children’s books deemed unacceptable are getting censored now and no longer sold, such as six books by Dr. Seuss featuring what some consider to be racist imagery. I mean, I read those books when I was a kid and they were a dear part of my childhood. No one ever complained about them when I was a kid. This brings me back to my point about on sensitivity. I have no idea why people are just considering these books offensive now, as they have been out on bookstore shelves for decades, and why they need to be completely taken off shelves. Restrictions on freedom of speech are the kind of things that are going on in countries such as Cuba, China, and Russia.

Is this where we want to be headed? Do we want to end up like the people in these countries with no rights and no freedoms? Because from what I’ve seen, I feel that is the path we are on right now.