One day at work, I was extremely irritated by a conversation with a colleague. She had been reprimanded for not calling someone by their preferred pronouns. In this case, the person wanted to be called by neutral pronouns, which meant my colleague had to use plural pronouns for a single individual. To be clear, she had to refer to one person as “they” and “them” instead of “he” or “she.” This is not simple when you’re trying to speak at a normal pace in a group. It’s incredibly difficult to change your grammar on the fly, especially when it goes against what you’ve been taught your entire life. My colleague was in her sixties at the time, so she had more than fifty years of ingrained grammar habits working against her. She tried, but she slipped up and got flustered, and that made it even harder to get it “right” (which was technically grammatically wrong). She was later reprimanded as if she had done it on purpose.
Now, I support this individual’s right to use their preferred pronouns. Their choice is not my business. But I don’t think the backlash my colleague and others have faced is justified. I call people by their preferred names all the time. If a man named Nickolas wants to be called Nick, no one gets upset about it. So what’s the difference?
Why do we all feel the need to make decisions for other people? Did God send you to judge others? Unless you’re perfect and without sin, maybe those judgments should be left to someone else. We are responsible for establishing laws and protecting those who cannot protect themselves, but beyond that, I think too many people are judging situations they have no business judging. Laws should be minimal, and adults should be trusted to make more of their own decisions. Grown adults do not need to be told to wear seatbelts, helmets, or life jackets, and they certainly don’t need to be fined for jaywalking. They should be able to decide whether or not to send their child to public school. They should be able to decide when their child is mature enough to have a small glass of wine at a family dinner. And honestly, having a drinking age that’s higher than the age to join the military is absurd.
Because children are often transported without their parents present, such as in daycare or school, laws requiring safety belts and car seats are necessary. Those laws actually fall under protecting people who can’t protect themselves.
But no one needs the government deciding what medical procedures they’re “allowed” to have. Everyone deserves reliable, safe healthcare, and everyone should have access to the care they need. I have no right to decide what you do with your body, and you have no right to decide what I do with mine. Those choices belong between a patient and their doctor. The state and federal government should not be involved in legislating medical care beyond figuring out how to control the outrageous cost of healthcare and prescriptions.
That is today’s rant. Tune in tomorrow for whatever comes next. As always, thanks for stopping by.