Censorship is all around us, there are lists of words that are forbidden on television and the radio, you could get arrested if you say your favorite four letter word in a public setting and in school you have just earned a trip to the principal’s office if you curse in class. We are all told not to say certain words since we were able to talk, we never were told why, just to not say them. The real reason is because society says that these arbitrary symbols that make up these words are bad. Still we do not really know why these words are considered bad, other than it is for one reason or another, against certain religions and some people’s morality. That argument however, brings up several issues. Why is it illegal if it is purely religious or moral? I mean in the United States we have separation of church and state and it is not putting anyone in danger, so I really am struggling to understand why something so commonplace is illegal in public and stigmatized everywhere else. There are other things that make moral issues illegal, such as indecent exposure but there is a general consensus in our society that it is considered wrong. But the divide on the cursing issue is not far to one side or the other. As for the religious angle of it. Why do I have to follow your religion if I do not believe in it? And also if we go with that logic, we would all practically be vegetarians and starving if you strictly respected all religious texts and prophets because you could not have: any meat especially beef (Hinduism), pork and anything not blessed in Allah’s name(Islam), alcohol (Islam and Buddhism), root vegetables, garlic, onions, fish, eggs, honey, butter, alcohol, and figs (Jainism) shellfish, meat and dairy in the same meal, birds of prey, and anything that is not kosher (Judaism) Coffee and tea (Sikhism) and the list goes on and on. It would be unreasonable to respect all religious dietary restrictions in an attempt not to offend anyone, so why do I have to follow religious lingual restrictions? I really do not care wether you choose to use certain words to get a message across, but I do care if you decide to bother others about there use of words.