It is the prerogative of all presidential administrations to alter language to mirror their own policies. However, I was surprised at how frequently I – a straight white, middle-aged LDS mother – was included in the flagged words.

And so I’m not sure I want my freedoms of EXPRESSION – covered in the (most important) 1st Amendment – to be poorer because these words have been flagged by the current administration.

Can I ADVOCATE for ACCESSIBILITY for my total hearing loss, or is my DISABILITY unmentionable? Should I abandon my faith-grown desires to rid the world of of INJUSTICE and DISPARITY and PREJUDICE? Do I let go of FEMINISM? A conversation (1991) with frosh dormmates on whether I was a feminist (I decided I was) is among the most memorable from my college days. Do I care nothing for the CULTURAL HERITAGE of those from COMMUNITIES different from mine? That would mean erasing the memories of Passover Seders attended, or grape juice sacrament at Duck Creek Village, or the art from other countries and eras, or the time I visited Ukraine and the months I taught in Eastern Europe, or the family dinners with guests from around the world, or living in other countries for years of my life, or the ….

Do I give up WOMEN?

Lisa R. Halverson, Springville