Chavez's intent with the first six words,"civility in public discourse is important," is to point out that public discussions require courtesy to all who may be listening. Through out the article, word choice or diction is used to emphasize the importance of words and their meanings that are being used today. Since Chavez is talking about thte contrats of past phrases and words, whose meanings have been altered, she is aware of the words she uses. Bellicose is an example which reveals her eagerness to state and defend her opinion of the matter. Throughout the article, Chavez is trying to persuade the readers into believing the words were irrelevant to what happened. An example of this is when she uses the phrase, "took his best shot" to show the contrast of words and intent by showing that a candidate didn't literally shoot his opponent but out forth effort. Other examples are also used by Chavez to convinve her readers in believing her point and her use of bellicose is see throughout.
I agree with Chavez especially when she references to Huckleberry Finn saying, "school censors deprives students from learning important lessons about both racism and the social mores of earlier eras."
