No More Men

Source: "'Men' edited out of law in Washington state," Omaha World-Herald, page 4A, 4 February 2013.

Lawmakers in Washington are removing all references to men from their laws. Dairymen are now called dairy farmers, freshmen are now first-year students, and penmanship is now handwriting.

The claim by Sally Clark, one of the instigators, is "But language matters. It's how we signal a level of respect for each other." I don't think she realizes what she just said. By insisting on removing every hint of maleness from the language, the message is that there is no respect for the male gender.

I'm sure verses like "Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life" (Romans 5:18) send people like Ms. Clark into a tizzy.

People in the name of non-offense and political correctness find things to be offended by even when it doesn't exist. The fact of the matter is that mankind (oops, there's that word!) cannot exist without both genders. "Nevertheless, neither is man independent of woman, nor woman independent of man, in the Lord. For as woman came from man, even so man also comes through woman; but all things are from God" (I Corinthians 11:11-12). Rather than celebrate each gender's role, one becomes a word that should not be uttered.

But then I wonder what Ms. Clark is going to do to describe her gender without speaking of men.