Why should we sugarcoat things? Why make what we feel or think “toned down”? To spare people’s feelings? To make them worry less? The first amendment of the United States of America is the freedom of speech, correct? Now, my class just finished reading Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand. A factor we keyed in on was the infamous “No Thank You” speech, and in this speech, Cyrano was basically going on a rant over patronage. Patronage means that you support someone with a catch. In Cyrano’s case, he would write only nice things about certain people, A.K.A. the nobles, in exchange for a handsome life. Cyrano refused with all his will and concludes that none of his work should be changed in order to make someone else prosper.

With noble advice from Cyrano, why should we sugarcoat things? Should we let no one speak their own mind? Is that not the reason why they were given to us? If not, then what were they given to us for? To be programmed like robots to only say certain commands and what other people want to hear? To not have any controversy? To not put up a fight? Is that not what America is trying to teach society today? To fight for what you believe in? To make your opinion stand? We are supposed to be a nation where everyone and everything is equal, right? Why is it not that way now? Is it because people are afraid of change and facing their fears? Is it because they don’t want to hear certain things? Jonathan Swift, the author of the famous and controversial Gulliver’s Travel’s sure did not care what people thought. Swift was so opinionated that he risked his whole life to prove a point. He said what he felt and was not scared of the repercussions.

Why can’t we be gutsy anymore? Is it because we are scared that we can’t live the so called “fairytale” life anymore? Is it because we feel we cannot carry out the role of the hero or heroine like in the Odyssey by Homer? For all we know, Homer could have been a woman. That sure would have sparked some controversy now wouldn’t it? The Odyssey has been said to be too “gory” for the minds of America, but if people hundreds of years ago could read it and be fine, why can’t we? Is it because things “changed”?

The only thing that has really changed in America is the so call “tolerance” that people have. People are so scared to hear about what happened to someone else that now when you walk down the street, or for me down the halls in my high school, that people look at you with a weird look if you are different in the slightest way. Once they hear something about you, a lie or not, it spreads like wildfire, and it can ruin you. But if you don’t let it ruin you, you can go on living life. It doesn’t mean you have to forget, just cope. This “tolerance” or “patients” as some people call it, ceases to exist.

For example, in my health class, we were talking about an extremely touchy subject, suicide to be exact. Now I’m sure about half of you just cringed at this word. People all think differently in certain ways but when it comes down to it, we are just programmed. My health teacher had explained about a recent suicide and it hit home to some people. But others who just sat there and basically said, “Yeah, whatever. You’re old, you don’t know anything”, have the state of mind that has been corrupted by the sugarcoating of life.

The point is, when society is sugarcoated, especially for teenagers now, when they hit the real world in a few years after high school, you are going to wish that you helped them ease into it, because the world is far from being rated G. It is worse than any rated R movie could be. So take these examples from Edmond Rostand, Jonathan Swift and Homer. Before you know it, the world won’t be as pretty as it seems. There will be no such thing as a fairy tale or a G rated life. So many people freak out when someone gathers up the guts to say how they feel. Considering half the time they are just words and not actions being taken. They say actions speak louder than words, could that be true anymore? Why sugarcoat things?