I"m With the Banned
Banned Books and Banned Words
I am working to limit my exposure to the continual parade of upsetting and chilling updates about the state of our country. Last week’s screen time report confirmed that I have spent less time on my phone. I decided this past weekend to take a break from the news and that actually was nice even if I was not fully compliant with my own personal mandate to limit my news intake.
Mr. Darcy continues to be a joy and wonderful companion. He has gotten attached to me, and I love that he gets so excited to see me. I am excited to see him too, but I am not nearly as agile and can’t leap vertically like him.
We still love getting in our hot tub and relaxing at the end of the day, enjoying the warm bubbly water on several cold nights this winter. We enjoyed another full season of Kentucky Wildcats Basketball and are looking forward to both the SEC tournament and the NCAA tournament. We also took in a game at Rupp to celebrate our anniversary, a tradition we started over a decade ago.
I say all of this to remind myself that all and all my life here is good. The things I am afraid of, the things that amp up my anxiety are “out there.” I am working to stay in the present. And reminding myself of what I can control and staying away from spending too much energy on what I cannot control.
And this works a lot of the time. But I have to say there are days when I just can’t. I get so scared for the future that I spiral into hopelessness. I talked to a friend this week and that helped. Kurt is always available to hear my concerns. I have like-minded people I meet with each week at The Open Table Jackson. I attend a book club at our local library where we read books written by the LGBTQIA community. I have started attending the meetings of our local democratic group. And I have committed to calling my congress folks every week using the 5 Calls app. Except this week when I sunk to the Anne Shirley depths of despair.
“Oh, I know I’ll improve. It’s just that my life is a perfect graveyard of buried hopes now. That’s a sentence I heard once, and I say it over to comfort myself in these times that try the soul.”
Anne Shirley, Anne of Green Gables.
I too say this quote over to comfort myself, because we are living in a time that is trying to the soul.
Last week the New York Times published an incomplete list of the words that are now either banned or discouraged in all communication within the federal government including websites, documents, memos and other publications. The list includes many of the words that come as no surprise but a few of them hit me particularly hard. You see I love words; I love how when strung together they can provide information, insight and clarification. I love how words can capture thoughts and feelings. And now words, just like the banned books that contain them are under assault.
“As President Trump seeks to purge the federal government of “woke” initiatives, agencies have flagged hundreds of words to limit or avoid, according to a compilation of government documents.”
New York Times March 7, 2025
This list is available from other sources online as well and contains words we have been hearing about for a while now, words like: trans, transgender, gender, gender affirming care, diversity, equity, inclusion, pronouns, LGBT, LBGTQ, and my personal favorite The Gulf of Mexico. But there were other words on the list that broke my heart and sent me reeling. Words like advocate, accessible, mental health, cultural sensitivity, and trauma. These words define my life’s work in so many ways and keep me adherent to the counseling code of ethics.
But the kicker was the people that list seeks to erase. Included are: black, BIPOC, disability, disabled, females, immigrants, indignous community, native American, Latinx, victims and women.
The government has said that it will only recognize two sexes, male and female and yet female and women make this list of words to steer away from. This makes it seem like the only people who are not taboo are white men. Is this true? Can this really be happening?
Until 2016 our country seemed to be moving in a clear trajectory forward. As women, we earned the right to vote in 1920. The 1970’s saw an Equal Rights movement gain momentum and safe and legal abortions became the rule of the land. And in 1988 women could finally get a business loan without a man’s signature. Then in 2016 we had Hillary Clinton nominated as the Democratic candidate for President and although she lost, in 2020 we had our first female Vice President in Kamala Harris.
Of Course, in 2022 abortion rights were overturned and as women the hope of full equality seemed a little farther out of our grasp. Although we all know that women are still fighting to break the highest glass ceilings there seemed to be hope that eventually shards of glass would start to fall. It seems that things that had remained unstated are now being shouted from the rooftops.
I am not sure how female and women became divisive words. The Trump administration has made it clear that there are only two sexes, male and female. Really? It seems like there is only one. I stand with the banned, all of them. All of us!