The final and perhaps most insidious form of speech control occurs when those in authority determine which words are acceptable and which ones are not.  Those with power can control the use of public speech, forbidding that which they deem unacceptable.  They can also use the pressure of public opinion to silence minority or dissenting views, often using the media to their advantage.  Totalitarianism has always used this technique to maintain and enhance power.  This is the heart of the earlier quote from Orwell’s 1984.

In the following interview, nationally syndicated column writer and humorist Dave Barry tells of how one of his written quotes came under this kind of censorship.  While this instance involves a well-known personality, many more like it occur regularly in our universities.  Lukianoff’s book contains many more examples, but consider this instance involving Dave Barry.