The value of self-censorship in American society

Censorship has a bad connotation. Self-censorship should not.

Self-censorship is as simple as displaying self-control and good manners in all aspects of life. Self-censorship suggests leadership, as in parents to children. Self-censorship suggests the values of showing respect in a respectful and cheerful manner. Self-censorship suggests self-control and respect is valued.

Political debate and blogging prompts this post as so many bloggers use bad language because they can. Most readers think bad language, and insults, subtle or not, hurts the cause of the poster, yet it is the style today. Bad language insults do not win hearts and minds anywhere, anytime. A little respect goes a long way.

On the bad language theme, and self-censorship theme, why do so many movies have bad language written in to the scripts? The decades old argument that the movies are just reflecting real life have long be superceded by influencing our American culture in a bad way. I say this as a foul mouthed Marine who has been counseled on his bad language in an earlier time. Of course I blame it on my Navy time.

Most think that behavior is learned, not biological. Behavior includes training in manners and self-control. Attending a dining-in at a Royal Marine Commando base in Scotland and using American cotillion training saved me a lot of embarrassment. So did going to a cocktail party in Hong Kong. As much as I was chagrined to being made to attend cotillion training at an earlier time, and the dancing steps never took, the social etiquette training did take. And much like one just has to memorize the multiplication tables, one also just has to memorize etiquette rules, assuming one believes in the value of all this in American society.

Displaying self-control and good manners is not a born trait, I believe. This is definitely a learned behavior. And it is time to teach it again. Leadership by example by trained adults is the best way, but more effort is needed. This is not an advertisement for bringing back cotillion, lord knows, I would have broken my leg to get out of it. But by leadership, example, and private programs (this is not a government responsibility) we can begin to teach and require our young men and women that have missed out on all this the opportunity to get back in to respect for civility; and even recognizing the value of this respect, some might say standard. Then they can teach it in their own way.

Much like too many of our young men and women have never been taught to do basic things like cook, sew, and do basic home maintenance, we are now suffering a lack of teachers of the same. These most basic skills are not biological, they are taught. The same applies to the idea of self-censorship, or displaying self-control and good manners. This must be taught for the benefit of American culture. The alternative looks like anarchy.