Richard Pryor--One Darn Funny Guy

The first time I heard the N-word being said out loud was on a Richard Pryor record. I grew up in an Air Force family and it was totally integrated, our neighbors and friends were black and we never used the N-word. When I came back to Oklahoma when my father retired, I was shocked when my friends used the N-word. It made me feel bad that anyone would use that word especially in a negative way. Then along came Richard Pryor. He used the N-word like a stilleto that cut to the heart of the race issue and made us all think about the use of words. Perhaps Martin Luther King helped create a civil rights movement, but it was Richard Pryor who helped us realize that words don't mean as much as we thought they meant.
One funny guy, his records were Platinum and he used the N-word to make his point. Have you ever used the N-word? If you ever listened to Richard Pryor you have. Trying to do your best impression of this comic genius, everyone I know has a favorite bit from Pryor and a bunch use the N-word. So why can't we say it anymore?
The political correct society has invaded free speech, and the first amendment right lost.
In our progressive society, we are going backwards. We are becoming more acceptable of bad language and other moral failures, but we are becoming less tolerant of freedom of speech. Too bad. If we were more tolerant, we would be better off.
Richard Pryor could never be popular today. Neither could All in the Family. So when we think about being tolerant of others, we can know that in the future, the words we use can never match the ones of the past.