A war has been raging for too long in this country. Political correctness has been shoved down people’s throats like they are happy pills to make all the bad thoughts go away. The end is nowhere in sight — and the end is perhaps farther than we thought.  The war against free expression continues with its latest advancement in armaments, Safe Zones.

A Safe Zone, according to Google, is “a campus-wide program committed to making the university a safer, more welcoming, and inclusive environment for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) community.”

At first glance, this seems harmless. These groups have been severely persecuted for their beliefs in the past. Why shouldn’t they have a place where there can feel safe and welcome, and talk about their opinions. Safe Zones, however, in the wrong hands have been misused by hundreds of schools, companies, and the Internet (no surprise there).

The restriction of hate speeches and topics that might offend is fine. But what happens when someone says that talking about politics is offensive or that the use of vulgar language is considered a form of hate speech. That’s how a Safe Zone could be misused. 

Trinity teacher Mr. Randy Perkins defines a Safe Zone as “a space, typically on college campuses, where students are guaranteed to be free from dissenting points of views.”

He said, “I don’t like the idea of Safe Zones. I think it promotes polarity because it takes away from productive conversations from different perspectives. It also violates the First Amendment. One of the biggest problems we have today is that people don’t want to listen or hear opposing opinions. Safe Zones do that, and they also promote ignorance.”

This is the fundamental problem with Safe Zones. Instead of promoting safety, they cause massive damage. When a generation only wants their opinions to be heard in the media and in all debates — having them considered as fact — that creates a generation more willing to adopt fascism or some other type of extreme government.

When our children are sheltered from the real world, they learn nothing.

There is still hope, though. Despite hundreds of colleges adopting a Safe Zone policy, the University of Chicago has openly declared that Safe Zones and trigger warnings are not tolerated.

Dr. Jay Ellison, dean of students at the University of Chicago, sent a letter to all incoming freshmen on Aug. 24 regarding the ban on Safe Zones.

According to the online magazine The Cut, Ellison had this to say about the letter: “Our commitment to academic freedom means that we do not support so-called ‘trigger warnings.’ We do not cancel invited speakers because their topics might prove controversial, and we do not condone the creation of intellectual ‘safe spaces’ where individuals can retreat from ideas and perspectives at odds with their own. The free exchange of ideas reinforces a related university priority — building a campus that welcomes people of all backgrounds.”

Safe Zones affect not only colleges; they also affect businesses and the Internet. Safe Zones actually affect YouTube greatly.

The YouTube channel ETC Show did a cover story Aug. 31 about how YouTube is censoring users. At the beginning of the video, Eliot and Rickey, the two main reporters, do a small comparison with another channel, Louie Cole. Louie Cole recently posted a video that showed the “greatness” of North Korea.

Basically, Louie Cole just uploaded a propaganda video for the North Korean government. Eliot and Rickey upload videos on current events, some of which involved North Korea.

Eliot and Rickey lost their monetization, the right to put ads on a video, which is the main source of income for YouTube users, and Louie Cole did not. They had this to say about the subject.

“YouTube promotes and monetizes one of these types of videos, and then they’ll take away the monetization on the other one, ours….YouTube has apparently become a Safe Space, and any political discourse or controversial subject that might make people upset is being flagged (as hurtful).”

Safe Zones should not be allowed in any institution.  We must respect people. Doing so, however, should not mean disrespecting free expression.