Greg

Has anyone ever stopped to think that all we're about many of the people we're taught are history's "bad guys," people like Vlad Tepes, Rasuptin, Adolph Hitler, etc., was written by people who hated them? If someone has an ax to grind, either good or bad, with any historical figure, doesn't it stand to reason that any history they write concerning them will not be simply fact, but distorted by exaggeration and omission into propaganda, consciously or unconsciously? If we're to learn about a historical figure, shouldn't we adopt the scientific method and dispassionately learn about the whole man, not merely the man as seen through the eyes of his enemies?

Why should words in common usage for centuries, often as proper scientific terms, have their meanings hijacked or be declared offensive altogether by certain small ethnic/religious/sexual groups? What gives a minority the right to forcibly change the language of the majority, and why does the majority coddle them and go along with their changes? The last time I checked, the Constitution declared that we do have the right to free speech, but there was no mention of any right not to be offended.