"Frankly my Dear, I Don't Give a Damn!"

In the 1930s Rhett Butler (Clark Gable) shocked the world when he said that line to Scarlett O’Hara (Vivien Leigh) in the Academy Award-winning movie “Gone with the Wind”.  It was unheard of at the time to use profanities on the big screen or even in a civilized society and yes, people were offended yet the movie went on to win numerous awards.  Today we could learn something from that simple line.

With social media giving us access to millions of people around the world, everyone has an opinion on everything and everyone’s opinion is the most important opinion there is.  Don’t like the lyrics of a song? Be offended and get it removed from the radio!  Don’t like the name of a sports team?  Be offended and make them change it!  Gone are the days of simply turning off the radio, switching channels, or not watching a particular team if you do not agree with what is being said.  If one person is offended, everyone must be, right?  So everyone should conform to our needs and change?

History is being removed from our culture by removing statues, plaques, and teachings from our schools as it may offend someone.  But wait…is history there to teach us not to repeat the horrors of our past?  If it is removed from the records, are we not destined to repeat the same thing over and over again?

Has being offended changed the way we live our lives?  Are newscasters, movie producers, artists and storytellers forced to watch their P’s and Q’s for fear of offending someone?  The simple answer is ‘Yes’!  We have become a society where the majority must change to suit the needs of the few.  Freedom of expression is becoming a thing of the past and has been replaced with “I’m Offended!”

We could all learn a thing or two from Rhett Butler and learn to just not “give a damn”, at least when it comes to the little things.  Learn to turn off the radio, change the channel, and close the computer.  Our society of being offended by every little thing has made it more difficult to get a real change on issues that truly affect everyone.

If we complain about everything our voices become muted and we will no longer be heard when it really matters.

Let us hope the ‘I’m Offended’ era will soon be ‘Gone With the Wind’.



Written by: Bobbi - Lynne McGarry