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If Language is a world, euphemism is the hero who saved the world. People are becoming more sensitive to every word with others are saying in the society. We could fight because of one word, and we may also fall in love with each other because of one word. Language leads the emotional connection between people. How to use language is an art, and euphemism is also the art of substituting an offensive language with that which is less offensive or more acceptable. Naturally euphemizing is assumed to be of a good intention and purpose. However, there are complications that arise from the use of euphemism rendering it complex in some situations. We may ask: How is euphemism used to promote ethics and morality in the society? How does challenges that come up in euphemizing and how euphemizing affects decision making. Besides, It is important to know how euphemism is applied by media houses and politicians in making ethical decisions.

At the outset, it can be noted that the ethical position of society is informed by moral philosophies. The philosophies dictate what moral responsibilities to uphold which include the responsibilities of doing good. Euphemism is used to reduce the harm of negative statements in different forums. In a society where unethical characters exist, and other criminal activities like sexual abuse are experienced, the use of euphemism is needed to pass a message to the authorities in a way that will not cause pain to victims. More so, the use of exact harsh words may traumatize the victims. Euphemism has been in existence and has been widely recognized throughout the human history. Some of the Common euphemisms include those relating to death, those relating to nature calls and others that are applied by professionals to refer to some issues in a polite manner or when making special requests. In the corporate world, apparently more gentle terms moderate painful or distasteful involvements: managers describe the act of firing workers as “cost cutting on human resource.”

At a basic level, euphemism can serve positive ends. First, it is among the means by which a communicator can exhibit situation-dependent sensibility and customizing messages to different audiences. Frequently, inoffensive or pleasant terms are substituted for matters that are considered unmentionable in the society—especially those related to sex, bodily functions and body parts. For instance, excusing oneself from a party to "use the cloakroom" is a way to omit unpleasant reason for leaving the party hall that most people may not be willing to know. Euphemism can also be used in discussions where a speaker may choose polite words to keep other debaters or panelists in his or her thoughts. People who conduct discussions on taboo topics are likely to be judged negatively, for example, they may be seen as being intolerable and impolite. They may reduce the negative judgment by choosing to use a less offensive language.

Likewise, this language tool can be used to avoid offending the audience, especially if they somehow are affected by a taboo topic. Finally, euphemism can be used to talk about topics that are unpleasant which otherwise, may not be discussed without such language techniques to substitute the real words. For example, in women's accounts of sexual abuse in a legal setting, they do not use the word "rape" often to describe the vice, but instead use euphemistic terms that are descriptive enough to state the act. As such, euphemism is important in helping people to talk about topics that are unpleasant and not easy to talk about (Lukas &Jeremy 551-569).

Although euphemism is good and useful, there are some limitations that accrue due to its use. For instance, in the process of down toning a certain topic, it may lose meaning at the end of the day. Different interpretations may come up due to the changed language. In the case of an offense that has been committed against a given party for example in the case of rape, the description may end up giving a wrong picture and hence the victim may not receive justice.

Euphemism brings up ethical issues because of its ability to depict behaviors, actions, and events in ways that give more favorable meanings. Given that euphemism is an art of replacement of offensive language with neutral terms, it is good to reason that euphemism can change the meaning of what a phenomenon is meant to signify. In this sense, euphemism is more than just a way to present an unpleasant act, but make the act have a less unpleasant look. Through euphemism, offensive activities can lose their repugnancy, harmful conduct can be moderated, and whatever that is socially intolerable can be changed into something can be approved by the society. This kind of bringing up a different meaning is what is referred to the use of euphemism to “tell it like it is not,” which leads to the use of euphemism not accepted at times when critical issues are being discussed, and severity of the issues is supposed to be felt in order for the correct course of action to be taken.

Besides changing the meaning of an event, euphemism can bar its visibility that is the extent to which that event can be perceived at all. Just like someone using “the cloakroom" makes invisible the bodily functions linked to that activity, euphemism can be used to camouflage, and mask many different activities and behaviors. The severity of an action is reduced when euphemism is applied, and this can be referred to as camouflaging bad deeds in society. The shortcoming of using this tool is that the socially unacceptable behaviors are covered by the polite words, and the judgment that comes out is also lenient that may encourage the continuation of such activities and behaviors. The extent to which these happenings are remembered is reduced, and people tend to forget happenings that seem not to be having great negative effects than those that are depicted as having severe impacts on the society.

The effects of using euphemism stated above are felt in making decisions. For instance, whenever a decision is supposed to be madeof the offenses committed by a member of the society, toning down the offense will result in arriving at an unfair judgment and hence the decisions made from the case will be considered unethical. Sound decisions are made from considering the happenings as they occur and the cruelty of such actions should be described in their exact terms so that whenever a decision is made, the facts are considered and applied as they are, not as they are depicted because of the respect that the society needs in addressing some of the unpleasant topics. The use of euphemism reframes a situation, and this leads to misinterpretation. Whenever there is a misinterpretation, the meaning is lost, and a sound decision cannot be made. Immoral characters are molded this way, and unacceptable social characters come up in the society. Members of the society should not be shielded by the use of euphemism as others get hurt through their actions and poor and unethical decision-making processes (Sayers 221).

The same way euphemism can be used as a basis for decision-making, it also can be used as a way to justify and deny actions already taken. When an unethical deed already has occurred, euphemism acts as a shield to protect individuals from the psychological effects of those actions. Instead of recognizing the possibility that the individual is unethical, it is used to deal with negative emotions for having committed a crime. Euphemism can be used to protect individuals from their role in having immoral actions and attempt to reduce their personal responsibility the action. Some scholars explain that when immoral actions are taken, things should not be called as they are or felt as they are. This is so because it may result in overwhelming guilt, remorse, and anxiety. Therefore, there is an inclination for characters to engage in self-deception assuming that they are unethical. They do this as a way to moderate the conflict they experience when their actions and identity do not agree. In this way, euphemisms become a tool that can shield individuals from the consequences of their actions. From the description above, an inference can be drawn that euphemism can lead to the promotion of unethical characters in the society. Uninformed decisions are made with very little knowledge of the activities involved.

The media houses also use euphemism in passing messages that are sensitive in nature and may ruin people psychologically. When reporting on accidents that involve deaths, the presenters do not break the news plainly, first they set the mood for presenting such news, and then they bring it in a language that is easy and, though sad, it is given in a language that does not scare or bring about a sorrowful mood.

In the obituaries section, euphemism also comes up. The language used is calming, and it is not easy to realize that it is a funeral being talked about. In doing so, the media houses act ethically and console with the bereaved families in a way. The use of such phrases as “promotion to glory, and rest in peace,” are common in the obituaries. The two phrases are used instead of death that sounds scary. In that sense, the media promotes morality and ethics by giving information in a way that does not psychologically torture the people involved in such events as funerals (Bowman 61).

In politics, euphemism is applied by politicians, and this affects the way supporters make decisions. The use word-replacement tactic that the supporters of political correctness follow does not resolve itself in a single repetition or any number of repetitions. Given the nature of the process of language change, the reason behind this endlessness is obvious. This is so because coming up with words that are suitable for use in political terms is difficult. At times, politicians end up using harsh words that can otherwise be avoided by the use of euphemism. It is unethical to use vulgar in public places and especially where there are children who may pick up the language and apply it in their lives (Starcevic 181).

To begin with, being politically correct is relative. Different people haven different political affiliations, but all these fit in the same society. Abusive language should be avoided at all costs, and this can be done by employing the art of using a euphemism. Utterances that may result in hate and violence are toned down by euphemisms that are less harsh and may not steer the society into violence. In that sense, euphemism plays a critical role to contain the political heat that comes up naturally from political activities and politicians’ utterances. Euphemisms are used to put across a message without bringing undesired emotions (Halmari 830).

The approach politicians give delicate or unpleasant topics is of paramount importance. It is the bond in politics to appear as polite as possible and sensitive to people’s concerns while, at the same time, luring them to favor or attack an opponent. Politicians tend to avoid expressions that have unpleasant connotations to avoid a negative impression. To this end, euphemism comes in handy to depict the politician as being sensitive to the audience concerns. Politicians also need to have allies among other politicians, and this also brings up a challenge on how to handle the other politicians because no politician is certain that they will win their respective seats. Tolerance is encouraged and can be brought about by use of euphemism to convince others to be alignedwith your goals.

Euphemism has been used and is still being used in different scenarios to bring about sanity in the society and to promote ethical behavior. Much as some flaws come up as a result of using a euphemism, there are more positive uses of this form of language since it brings about tolerance and reduced use of harsh words and vulgar language. It is also used in the discussion of topics that are considered taboo.

Works cited

Halmari, Helena. "Political Correctness, Euphemism, and Language Change: The Case Of ‘People First.'" Journal of Pragmatics 43.3 (2011): 828-840. Academic Search Premier. Web. 16 Nov. 2015

Starcevic, Vladan. "Euphemisms, Political Correctness and The Identity Of Psychiatrists." Australasian Psychiatry 18.2 (2010): 181-182. Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition. Web. 16 Nov. 2015.

Bowman, James. "Sanity: An Obituary." New Criterion 32.1 (2013): 61. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 16 Nov. 2015.

Sayers, Gwen M. "Non-Voluntary Passive Euthanasia: The Social Consequences of Euphemisms." European Journal of Health Law 14.3 (2007): 221-240. Academic Search Premier. Web. 16 Nov. 2015.

Lucas, Kristen, and Jeremy Fyke. "Euphemisms and Ethics: A Language-Centered Analysis of Penn State's Sexual Abuse Scandal." Journal of Business Ethics 122.4 (2014): 551-569. Business Source Premier. Web. 16 Nov. 2015.