In 2012, Ann Coulter stirred up major controversy over an issue that is still relevant today with a tweet about President Barack Obama.

Following a presidential debate Coulter tweeted, “I highly approve of Romney’s decision to be kind and gentle to the retard.” This tweet prompted a large amount of backlash due to her use of the word “retard” as an insult. One criticism in particular, by Special Olympics athlete John Franklin Stephens went viral and finally prompted a response from Coulter.

Instead of an apology, Coulter went on to defend her tweet, saying she would never call someone with Down syndrome a retard and that her critics were being too sensitive about the subject.

The fact that she was not calling out someone with a disability directly was not what upset people, it was that she was using the word as an insult to anyone, or that she needed to use the word at all.

Coulter uses the word to imply that the president is stupid, but for some reason, she could not have used any other word to get her point across. It is not difficult to shy away from words like that, words that obviously upset many, yet still people choose to be ignorant to the feelings of others because it is their “right” to do so.

Today, people are becoming increasingly concerned with the idea that America is becoming too politically correct and that the censorship of certain words is taking away some people’s freedom of speech.

That really depends on each individual’s idea of what freedom of speech means.

Many people believe that freedom of speech means they can and should say whatever they want whenever they want without criticism. This idea is fundamentally flawed.

If people want to publicly voice their opinions using derogatory terms then they should do so fully expecting to receive backlash from those referred to derogatorily.

There is definitely a flip side to this issue.

It is incredibly important to use politically correct language as a way to show respect for one another as humans who are equal, but occasionally America can become too obsessed with being politically correct.

This was the case when Obama said the N-word in a recent interview.

The outdated racial slur coming from the mouth of our leader took many people by surprise. Though in this case you have to consider the reason he used it and in what context.

The president felt the need to use the N-word to prove the point that our nation is not free of racism, just because the word is inappropriate to use in public.

His goal was to get people talking and to make some people uncomfortable in order to shed some light on an issue that is incredibly important and relevant right now.

It was necessary to use that type of language and it helped him get his point across.

Some people can definitely be too quick to criticize before considering why the word is being used.

Being politically correct is not holding this nation back or inhibiting people from expressing themselves, it is only helping people be more respectful in the long run.

By thinking before you speak you avoid unnecessarily offending people and running into criticism.

Words that are used to insult groups of people or offend and demean others should continue to be unacceptable in this country that deems itself a place of equality.